Delhi's next CM: Parvesh Verma, Smriti Irani among top contenders

Continuing with its recent winning streak in elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stormed back to power in Delhi after a gap of 27 years. As the BJP scripted history in the national capital, now the question is, who will be the chief minister?

While there is speculation on the possible candidates for the top position, the Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva, who has led the party to a historic win, is one of the top contenders.

Parvesh Verma in the race

Although the final decision would be taken by the parliamentary board and after the meeting of the legislative party of Delhi, among the possible names that can be given the duty to lead the government is Parvesh Verma, after he defeated Arvind Kejriwal, chief of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

Also read: Arvind Kejriwal's hubris led to AAP's debris

Interestingly, soon after winning the New Delhi seat against Kejriwal, Verma met Union Home Minister Amit Shah. After being denied a Lok Sabha ticket in the 2024 general elections, Verma was handpicked by the BJP to take on Kejriwal.

“The BJP has a very clear policy on the decision-making process. The final decision will be taken by the central leadership of the party and a meeting of the legislative party members of Delhi will be called in the next few days to hold consultations with all the elected Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs),” RP Singh, national spokesperson of BJP and former Delhi Assembly member, told The Federal.

BJP's poll strategy

The strategy of the BJP to ask some of its prominent Lok Sabha leaders to contest Assembly elections is not new. The strategy was repeated in Delhi when Verma and Ramesh Bidhuri were denied tickets in the Lok Sabha polls and were instead asked to contest the Delhi elections. The BJP used a similar strategy in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh elections.

Also read: Talking Sense With Srini | BJP triumphs in Delhi election as AAP’s credibility erodes

“There are a few choices for the BJP leadership. The name of Virendra Sachdeva is also being talked about because he was asked to not contest Delhi elections at the last minute. He has led the party to victory and he is responsible for ending factionalism in Delhi BJP. The party earlier had several factions but Virendra Sachdeva managed to neutralise all of them and also ensured that he coordinated between state leaders, national leaders and members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS),” a senior leader of the BJP told The Federal.

Will BJP pick Smriti Irani or Meenakshi Lekhi?

While there is speculation on the names, the BJP leaders said that it was possible that a prominent woman leader could also be given an opportunity.

Also read: Who is Parvesh Verma, likely to be Delhi CM after defeating Kejriwal?

Among the top contenders are former Union Ministers Meenakshi Lekhi and Smriti Irani, who have been silently working for the party in Delhi for the past few months and have held several meetings before polls.

“If the BJP leadership decided to name Smriti Irani as the chief ministerial candidate then it would not be a surprise to most of the people because she is from Delhi. The former Union Minister lived, educated, and worked in Delhi, she is a woman candidate, a member of the minority community, and has also worked at the national level. The case is the same for Meenakshi Lekhi who too has been a resident of Delhi, worked closely with the national leadership, and also helped the Delhi BJP in its election strategy and campaign. Lekhi played an important role in the preparation of the Delhi manifesto too,” a senior BJP told The Federal.

Also read: Delhi elections | Five reasons why AAP and Kejriwal bit the dust

The choice of a woman candidate may not come as a surprise because former Union Minister Sushma Swaraj was the last BJP chief minister of Delhi in 1998 before the BJP lost power in the national capital.

Will PM Modi spring a surprise?

Even though there is little clarity on who could be the possible chief ministerial candidate as Prime Minister Narendra Modi likes to spring surprises, another contender is senior BJP leader Dushyant Gautam.

However, Gautam, who belongs to the Scheduled Caste community and contested from the Karol Bagh constituency, lost the election to the AAP candidate.

“Dushyant Gautam could be the surprise candidate but what may work against him is that he lost the election. But he has spent a lot of time in Delhi and belongs to the Scheduled Caste community. It is possible that the BJP’s central leadership can give him an opportunity to lead the party,” the BJP leader quoted above said.

Political analysts believe that the BJP's central leadership will not have an easy time choosing the next chief minister of Delhi. The party has not had a strong leadership base in the national capital since it has been out of power for a long time.

“The name of the next chief minister will be a surprise for everyone because PM Modi likes to give surprises. However, the BJP leadership will have to choose a strong, charismatic leader because Arvind Kejriwal and Sheila Dikshit were all prominent chief ministers. Even during the BJP tenure, Madal Lal Khurana, Sahib Singh Verma, and Sushma Swaraj were all senior leaders and who enjoyed good connect with the people of Delhi,” Amit Dholakia, Professor, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, told The Federal.