BJP’s chief ministerial candidate Kiran Bedi met former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, former Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani and Union Minister Sushma Swaraj on Friday. A new entrant to the party, sources said, Ms. Bedi wanted to formally meet the BJP stalwarts and seek their blessings. Mr. Advani said he was confident that that party will win the Delhi elections under Ms. Bedi’s leadership and she will give a new direction to Delhi, said a statement.
The curious case of missing Sheila
The Congress based its manifesto on the achievements during the tenure of the three-time former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, who was conspicuous by her absence as the party released its manifesto for the upcoming Assembly polls. When asked, DPCC President Arvinder Singh hailed her as a senior and well-respected leader and said she was already playing a role in campaigning for the party.
However, not only was Ms. Dikshit missing from the event, the manifesto didn’t even mention her name. In fact, Mr. Singh was the only Delhi-based leader whose picture was borne by the 16-page document in addition to pictures of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi.
This time he minds his words
A day after his comments on capability of Kiran Bedi pushed the Aam Aadmi Party on the backfoot, AAP patron Shanti Bhushan turned down the offer of Ms. Bedi to meet her stating that “she is the chief ministerial candidate of the BJP and she should stick to her work”.
