Delhi polls set to be held early next year
New Delhi:
The BJP will not field a chief ministerial candidate in the Delhi elections and will have a “big name” competing against Arvind Kejriwal, top sources in the party told New Delhi TV on Friday.
Not appointing a chief minister is a strategy followed by the BJP in states like Maharashtra, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and others.
Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which is participating in the elections early next year ahead of other parties, has announced candidates for all 70 seats.
Sources say the BJP is “very confident” of a tough fight in the New Delhi seat held by Arvind Kejriwal and that a “big name” will fight the former chief Ministerial competition.
In September, days after being granted bail in the liquor policy case, Kejriwal resigned as chief minister and appointed Atish as his replacement.
“I got justice from the courts and now I will get justice from the people’s courts. I will sit on the chief minister’s chair only on the orders of the people,” Mr Kejriwal said in September, as he now stands Parade on padyatra (foot) across all constituencies of Delhi.
Sources said the BJP plans to target alleged corruption, adding that opposing the current government is another point the BJP is counting on.
Sources further said that former BJP MPs and those who were not enfranchised in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls may be asked to contest the Delhi polls.
Some seats will also be divided between BJP allies Chirag Paswan’s Janata Party and Nitish Kumar’s Janata Party.
On Wednesday, the BJP announced the formation of a 21-member state election committee to screen potential candidates. Later, the Central Election Commission chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet to take the final decision.
In 2015, AAP won 67 seats while the BJP won only 3 seats. In the next elections in 2020, AAP won 62 seats and the BJP won 8 seats. Congress failed both times to open the account.