If things go as per the exit polls, the BJP will swing back to power in Delhi after a gap of 27 years. The favourable exit poll results have already spread cheer in the BJP camp, where senior leaders are vying to be part of the double-engine government in the national capital.
While the BJP Delhi unit has so far not given any hints about who the new Chief Minister will be, many names have already begun to do the rounds, including that of Parvesh Verma, Manjinder Singh Sirsa and Dushyant Gautam. However, BJP Delhi chief Virendra Sachdeva has already made it clear that the BJP central leadership would choose the next leader while considering the interests of workers.
But, going by BJP's track record, the saffron party has sprung a surprise many a time by going for lesser-known leaders in the states, defying predictions.
Let us examine three formulas that the BJP might adopt in selecting the head of the state in Delhi, if things go as per predictions.
1) Not CM but deputy CM: The BJP has never been swayed by the popular leader choice, going by what it did in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. The party defied expectations when it chose Bhajan Lal Sharma, whose name was not on the list of contenders. Diya Kumari, who many thought would become the CM, had to be content with the deputy chief minister post. In Madhya Pradesh, the party went for the relatively unknown Mohan Yadav as the CM. But, it did not pull a surprise in Maharashtra, where Devendra Fadnavis got the CM chair as expected.
2) Woman power: The BJP does not shy away from choosing a woman to lead the government. In Delhi, they have three popular leaders, including Bansuri Swaraj, Meenakshi Lekhi and Rekha Gupta. Selecting a woman will also help BJP counter AAP, who chose Atishi to helm the top post. It will also end the Punjabi, Poorvanchali and Jat-Gujjar politics and factionalism in Delhi.
3) Caste equations: The BJP aims to balance caste representation and key communities, so it would not want to offset the equation by choosing either a Jat-Gujjar, Punjabi or Purvanchali to the top post, though they might consider them for the Deputy Chief Minister post. The party followed the equation in Rajasthan by opting for Bhajan Lal Sharma a Brahmin as not to trigger both Gurjar-Jat and Rajput communities.
