The Bharatiya Janata Party is expected to take a call on naming its chief ministerial candidate for the Delhi Assembly polls even as questions are being raised over rampant factionalism within the unit.
The Bharatiya Janata Party is expected to take a call on naming its chief ministerial candidate for the Delhi Assembly polls even as questions are being raised over the factionalism rampant within the unit.
Meanwhile, the party’s Delhi unit chief Vijay Goel has reportedly threatened to resign if he is not made the party’s chief ministerial candidate.
Former BJP chief Nitin Gadkari, party-in-charge for the Delhi polls, has so far not been able to achieve reconciliation despite best efforts.
In an indication of how deep the internal divisions are, Mr. Gadkari had earlier announced that the polls in Delhi would be fought under the collective leadership of the State. However, the BJP unit is finding it difficult to answer questions from other parties on why it is unable to name its CM candidate.
Of the five assemblies election-bound States, — Mizoram, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi — the BJP is optimistic of victory in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.
Delhi poses the biggest challenge to the BJP — the entry of the Arvin Kejriwal–led Aam Aadmi Party is expected to eat into the anti-Congress votes that the BJP was banking on.
The CM candidate issue did not figure during the BJP’s central election committee meeting, headed by the party president Rajnath Singh, here on Sunday. It was attended by the party’s prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi.
Quashing speculations in the media that his party could project former Delhi Minister and senior party leader Harsh Vardhan as CM candidate, Mr. Goel last week asserted that he was the people’s choice. Citing the party’s internal survey for Delhi, Mr. Goel observed that incumbent CM Sheila Dikshit (who is seeking a record fourth term) and Mr. Goel have received support from 20 per cent each from voters, followed by Arvind Kejriwal (12 per cent), Vijender Gupta (9 per cent) and J.P. Agarwal (7 per cent).
According to the survey, 6 per cent of the respondents wanted senior BJP leader Vijay Kumar Malhotra to become CM while 4 per cent voted for his party colleague Mr. Vardhan.
