BJP mulls woman leader at helm, inclusive cabinet in Delhi

While the BJP has registered a thumping win in the Delhi Assembly elections, there is no end to the suspense over the next chief minister.

Though several names are doing rounds, sources have now indicated that the national capital could see a woman chief minister at the helm. With the party securing 48 out of 70 seats, ending the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) decade-long rule, deliberations are on regarding the top post even as specific details continue to be under wraps.

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Four women legislators

According to sources, the next chief minister will be picked from the newly elected MLAs and a female legislator could emerge as the chief minister's face.

Among the new BJP MLAs, four women legislators secured their seats by significant margins. Rekha Gupta clinched victory in Shalimar Bagh with 68,200 votes, defeating AAP’s Bandana Kumari by a margin of 29,595 votes.

Shikha Roy emerged victorious in Greater Kailash, polling 49,594 votes and defeating prominent AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj by a margin of 3,188 votes.

Poonam Sharma secured the Wazirpur seat, polling 54,721 votes and defeating AAP's Rajesh Gupta by 11,425 votes. Neelam Pehalwan won the Najafgarh seat with 1,01,708 votes, defeating AAP's Tarun Kumar by 29,009 votes.

Prominent faces in race

Significantly, it is not just the new BJP MLAs, the names of some of the prominent women faces of the party like Smriti Irani and Bansuri Swaraj are also doing the rounds for the top post.

Bansuri is the daughter of former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. Currently serving as MP from New Delhi seat, Bansuri has considerable clout in the Delhi BJP unit. Interestingly, her mother had a short stint as the Delhi chief minister in the late 1990s.

Hailing from Delhi, Smriti Irani has taken a back seat following her loss in the Amethi Lok Sabha elections. However, the BJP leadership could give her a chance, given her silent campaigning during the Delhi Assembly elections.

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Priority to Dalits, women

Meanwhile, the saffron party is also contemplating appointing a deputy chief minister from an under-represented background, sources said. As per media reports, the new cabinet is expected to have strong representation of women and Dalits.

Four of the BJP MLAs are from the Scheduled Caste -- Raj Kumar Chauhan, elected in Mangolpuri, Ravikant Ujjain (Trilokpuri), Ravinder Indraj Singh (Bawana) and Kailash Gangwal (Madipur).