Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, is known for giving surprises, defying all projections over names of chief minister or ministers in a state after the saffron party won the assembly elections. Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Chattisgarh witnessed the trend. No one knew the name of chief minister of these states until the BJP officially announced. Now, experts suspect that in Delhi too, the saffron party will surprise all by picking an unexpected name. A section of political analysts are also guessing that the BJP may pick a woman for the top post in the city. They feel a woman face for the CM post will strengthen BJP's agenda to promote women in politics and empower them. If BJP picks a woman, it would be first woman chief minister from the party after 2016 in the Modi-era. Currently, the only woman chief minister in the country is Mamata Banerjee (of Trinamool Congress) in West Bengal.
Four women candidates of the BJP managed to win in the Delhi Assembly elections. Rekha Gupta, Shikha Roy, Poonam Sharma and Neelam Pahelwan emerged victorious in the crucial elections which marked an end of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)'s dominance in the national capital.
The BJP may pick one of these women MLAs for the CM post:
- Shikha Roy emerged as a giant killer as she defeated the Delhi minister and one of the top AAP leaders Saurabh Bharadwaj by 3,188 votes from the Greater Kailash seat.
- Rekha Gupta won the Shalimar Bagh seat by defeating AAP's Bandana Kumari by 29,595 votes.
- Poonam Sharma outsmarted AAP leader Rajesh Gupta by 11,425 votes from the Wazirpur seat.
- Neelam Pahalwan outclassed AAP candidate Tarun Kumar by 29,009 votes from the Najafgarh seat.
Other contenders in the CM race
However, Parvesh Verma, who defeated AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, is the front-runner in the chief minister race. Verma's political currency skyrocketed with his stupendous victory over AAP supremo from New Delhi by 4,089 votes, positioning him as a potential claimant to the top post in the upcoming BJP government. He is also the son of former Delhi chief minister Sahib Singh Verma.
The BJP winners also included several experienced senior leaders who are also in the race for the chief minister's post, party leaders said after the poll results were declared on Saturday.
"These include Ashish Sood and former state general secretary (organisation) Pawan Sharma," a top BJP functionary in Delhi said. Sood, who won from Janakpuri by 18,766 votes, is a senior leader with some hands-on experience in administrative matters gained during BJP's rule in the South Delhi Municipal Corporation.
Other serious contenders to the top post include former Delhi BJP presidents Vijender Gupta and Satish Upadhyay. Gupta, the leader of opposition in the previous Delhi Assembly, scored a hat-trick of wins from Rohini, winning by 37,816 votes. Upadhyay, the former vice-chairman of New Delhi Municipal Council, is believed to share close ties with the RSS leadership, BJP leaders said.
Fewer women, more graduates in eighth Delhi Assembly
The eighth Delhi Assembly will have fewer women members but a higher number of lawmakers with graduate degrees, according to a report. The report by PRS Legislative Research found that five women had been elected to the assembly, the results of which were announced on Saturday, representing 7 per cent of the House. Four women MLAs are from the BJP while Delhi CM Atishi is AAP's only woman member in the House. In 2020, eight women were elected.
(With PTI inputs)