NEW DELHI: Amid hectic discussions on potential candidates for the Chief Minister’s position in Delhi, the BJP high command on Thursday took a policy decision to have the CM from among the elected lawmakers.
“We have received a massive mandate in the national capital. It is only natural to have the CM from among the elected MLAs,” a top BJP source told The Tribune today amid talks previously that the party could bet on an unelected leader.
The name of BJP general secretary Dushyant Gautam, who lost the elections, was in the reckoning.
The source also added that preparatory meetings for the post of CM and Delhi Cabinet formation had been concluded and final touches to the proposal would be given once Prime Minister Narendra Modi returns from the United States of America.
Sources indicated that the post of a Deputy Chief Minister was unlikely in Delhi given the small size of the Assembly. Delhi has 70 MLAs with the BJP winning 48 and the AAP 22.
Asked if the VVIP New Delhi constituency, which has served as nursery for CMs candidates in the capital, (Congress’ Sheila Dikshit and later AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal) should be watched out for, senior leaders said, “The BJP is a party which believes in experiments.”
The signal was that BJP’s Parvesh Verma, who defeated former CM and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal in the New Delhi seat, may be one of the CM probables but not essentially the only one.
Sources added that a candidate’s capability to deliver in Delhi would be the sole criteria for selection. “Selection will be based on merit,” said sources at a time when there is speculation that the party may back a woman candidate.
BJP legislature party meeting to elect the CM is likely after PM Narendra Modi returns from the US trip. BJP chief JP Nadda has been meeting MLAs to get a view on what they think about the government formation and the CM issue.