Delhi BJP keen to form minority government, avoid elections. Leaders jockey for chief minister’s post

August 6, 2014

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party is ready to form a minority government in Delhi. The state leadership of the party has come on record for the first time to admit that they are open to the idea of a minority government. This decision has sent BJP leaders in an overdrive in the race to be the party’s chief ministerial candidate.

“There have been minority government’s in the country, there is nothing wrong in it,” said senior BJP leader and MLA from Janakpuri Prof. Jagdish Mukhi. “No elected MLA wants to go for a mid-term elections, not even the MLAs of the Aam Aadmi Party. There has been a minority government at the centre too run by former PM P.V. Narshimha Rao. “

However, the Delhi BJP chief Satish Upadhyay had a very guarded response. “Only the Lieutenant Governor can take a call on the government formation,” he said. “If he calls the BJP, we will take it seriously and discuss the formation of a minority government. There has been a precedence of minority governments.”

Though earlier BJP president Amit Shah was not inclined to go for a minority government in Delhi, party insiders say that Nitin Gadkari has convinced Mr Shah that a minority government was the need of the hour in the national capital.

Leaders scramble for top job

With the very real possibility of a BJP government being formed in Delhi, several leaders are in the fray for the chief minister’s job. The leaders who are reported to be in the race are Dr Harshvardhan, Prof Jagdish Mukhi, Rambir Singh Bidhuri, Meenakshi Lekhi, Nand Kishore Garg, Vijay Goel, Vijender Gupta and Ashish Sood.

Apart from lobbying within the party, they are cranking up their presence on social media or hired PR agencies. Facebook pages named “Dr Jagdish Mukhi the next CM of Delhi” and “Meenakshi Lekhi as Delhi CM” have already cropped up.

“Now that you have informed me, I will get it closed down,” said Mr Mukhi, when told about the Facebook page about him. “I don’t back it, this has happened in the past too. This might have been done by an enthusiastic supporter”.

Meanwhile party MLA from Tri Nagar, Nand Kishore Garg has hired agencies to handle his public relations and social media promotion. “I think every politician has certain aspirations and being the chief minister of a state is one of them,” said Mr Garg. “People are trying to make their case before senior party leaders.”

Who stands where

Based on the information gathered by The Political Indian from Delhi BJP leaders, this is how the various leaders stack up in the race to be chief minister.

Dr Harshvardhan: He is the cleanest and most popular face the BJP in Delhi. But he is a central minister and is unlikely to be relieved to lead Delhi. He is also not keen to be the chief minster of a minority government and would prefer to lead the party into fresh elections.

Prof Jagdish Mukhi: A seven time MLA, he is the frontrunner for the post as of now. Though party sources say that in case the MLAs were to elect the leader, he won’t be able to make it.

Rambir Singh Bidhuri: MLA from Badarpur constituency,Mr Bidhuri is close to Nitin Gadkari. Sources say, he is the one who is in touch with MLAs from other parties, who will help to form and run a minority government. Mr Gadkari would support him for the post, but his party-hopping nature is unacceptable to the RSS. He has been in the Congress, NCP and the BSP earlier.

Nand Kishore Garg: A former chief whip of the party, Mr Garg is a dark horse in the race, admits a party spokesperson. He is close to the RSS and may even be the choice of a majority of MLAs.

Vijay Goel: In the last assembly elections, the party had replaced him with Mr Harshvardhan as the party’s chief ministerial candidate. But there are indications that he is eyeing the post again. Mr Goel was recently in news for making controversial statement on the migrants in the capital. He has the backing of Home Minister Rajnath Singh and the powerful organizational secretary of the party Ramlal.

Meenakshi Lekhi: BJP MP from New Delhi parliamentary constituency is also reported to be in the race, though party insiders say her chances are weak.

Vijender Gupta: Mr Gupta has been active in the Delhi political circuit for long and has served as the president of the state unit too. He had been a trusted man of former Delhi BJP in-charge Mr Gadkari.

Ashish Sood: A close ally of Arun Jaitley, Mr Sood is also in the running. But his not being an MLA is a big hurdle for him, in the case of the party forming a minority government. Mr. Sood is presently the vice president of the party’s state unit and municipal councilor from Janakpuri.

- This story was first published in www.thepoliticalindian.com on August 6, 2014