New Delhi: Speculation is rife with who will take over the much coveted seat of Delhi’s Chief Minister. With both AAP and Congress accusing Delhi Lt Governor on calling the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to form the government, the party itself denies the charges.
Senior party leader Harsh Vardhan had been the party’s pick for the chair in the run-up to the 2013 Assembly elections, in which the BJP had missed the majority mark by all of five seats. But the doctor-politician has since been made a Union minister and the field is now open for other contenders to step in.
Former state finance minister and seven-time MLA Jagdish Mukhi has emerged as the frontrunner for the crown.
The other leading candidate is New Delhi MP Meenakshi Lekhi. Though Lekhi has been retained as one of the BJP’s spokespersons under the leadership of chief Amit Shah, the fact that she has not been given either a Cabinet portfolio or a pivotal post in the party is being interpreted as a sign that the BJP sees a potential chief ministerial candidate in her.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Saturday that party would think about forming government in Delhi if it is formally invited by Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung, adding the party “doesn’t believe in horse-trading”. Â
Meanwhile, According to reports, party sources said that a final decision on who will be named the BJP’s CM candidate is likely to be taken at a meeting of the newly-constituted BJP Parliamentary Board in the coming week.
The two front-runners:
Meenakshi Lekhi
After defeating Congress stalwart Ajay Maken in the Lok Sabha elections to win the New Delhi constituency, Meenakshi Lekhi is busy positioning herself as the BJP’s CM candidate. Lekhi has even set up two groups on social media site Facebook – ‘Meenakshi Lekhi for Delhi Chief Minister’ and ‘Meenakshi Lekhi as Delhi Chief Minister’. She regularly updates the ‘Meenakshi Lekhi for Delhi Chief Minister’ account with minute-by-minute posts on her interactions and appointments in the Capital.
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Jagdish Mukhi
Senior BJP leader Jagdish Mukhi has emerged as the frontrunner for the chief minister’s post if the party does agree to the Lieutenant-Governor’s invitation to form the government in Delhi. The 74-year-old veteran politician and former Delhi finance minister is an MLA from Janakpuri and has won seven consecutive terms to the Assembly.Sources in the party say there is a consensus among party leaders on making him the CM. Mukhi, however, dismisses the claims as “mere speculation” resulting from an “obvious misunderstanding”.