NEW DELHI: As the Bharatiya Janata Party crossed the halfway mark of 36 seats in the Delhi assembly election results, the focus has now shifted to who would be the saffron party’s chief ministerial face.
BJP leader Virendraa Sachdeva said on Saturday said that the party’s CM face would be decided by the “central leadership”.
Taking on this question of “BJP ka dulha kaun”, as AAP had attacked the party for not announcing a CM face during the campaign, Sachdeva said, “Central leadership will decide (CM’s face).This issue doesn’t matter much to us. Those (AAP) who betray people, the people will treat them like this (defeat) only,” he said.
Meanwhile, exit polls had presented a mixed picture, with most predicting a BJP victory after nearly three decades. While some projections indicated a close contest between BJP and AAP, Congress was expected to have a limited impact. Seat estimates suggested BJP could secure 35 to 49 seats, AAP may win between 21 and 37, while Congress is projected to gain up to three seats.
Here are potential BJP CM face if the party comes to power:
Parvesh Verma: The son of former Delhi CM Sahib Singh Verma, is contesting against AAP national convenor and former CM Arvind Kejriwal from New Delhi seat. He has started trailing after leading in early poll trends.
Ramesh Bidhuri: AAP had declared Bidhuri as BJP’s CM face and had invited him for a debate during poll campaigns, only get BJP’s flack, who said that the party’s CM face was yet to be decided. Bidhuri is contesting from Kalkaji seat against Delhi CM Atishi.
“We are here to serve public, not for any position like CM,” he said when asked about the top post.
Kailash Gahlot: Contesting from Bijwasan, Gahlot is another potential BJP CM candidate. He is currently leading from the seat.
Kapil Mishra: Contesting from Karawal Nagar, Mishra is leading from his constituency, as per early trends.
Arvinder Singh Lovely: Lovely, a former Delhi Congress president, is contesting from Gandhi Nagar as a BJP candidate after switching to the party ahead of the Delhi elections. He is, however, trailing as per the early trends.
Vijender Gupta: The senior BJP leader is a strong contender for the chief ministerial post if the party secures victory in Delhi. A former Delhi BJP chief, he has consistently held the Rohini seat, winning in both 2015 and 2020 despite AAP’s dominance. Gupta also served as leader of the opposition in the Delhi assembly, with his experience and resilience making him a key figure in the party’s leadership calculations.
In 2013, AAP formed the government with Congress’s outside support after winning 28 seats, but the tenure lasted only 49 days. The party secured a landslide victory in 2015, winning 67 out of 70 seats. In 2020, AAP retained power with 62 seats, while the BJP claimed the remaining eight. Congress, once again, failed to win a single seat.
Check out the latest news about Delhi Election Results, including key constituencies such as New Delhi, Kalkaji, Jangpura, Okhla, Patparganj, Ballimaran, Madipur, Hari Nagar, Rajinder Nagar, Tri Nagar, Sultanpur Majra, Wazirpur and Gandhi Nagar.