Four days since the results of the Delhi Assembly Elections, the BJP has not said a word about who the next chief minister will be. While many names, including New Delhi MLA Parvesh Verma, are doing the rounds, the top leadership continues to hold multiple meetings, including with MLAs to choose the new chief minister.
However, reports indicate that the party may have taken crucial decisions at the closed-door meeting between BJP chief J P Nadda and Union Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday night.
Though the party sources are mum about what may have transpired during the meeting, it is learnt that the BJP has decided that the new chief minister will be among the 48 elected MLAs. The buzz is that the party may choose a woman leader, since none of the CMs in BJP-ruled states are women. She could be a 'Singh' or 'Purvanchali', especially in the light of the impending Assembly elections in Bihar.
If this is the case, then Shikha Rai may be considered. The names of Wazirpur MLA Poonam Sharma and Najafgarh MLA Neelam Pehalwan are also doing the rounds.
Amit Shah is also said to have insisted during the meeting that he wanted a leader of 'Yogi's stature to lead Delhi, especially to counter Arvind Kejriwal. The BJP believes that if a weak face is chosen, they can manoeuvre the threat that Kejriwal might pose as the Opposition leader.
Meanwhile, the BJP leadership continues to hold meetings in Delhi. Besides state president Virendra Sachdeva, election in-charge Baijayant Jai Panda, the conveners of the election committees formed by the BJP, including Bansuri Swaraj, Yogendra Chandolia, Manoj Tiwari, Vishnu Mittal, will also attend the meeting.
The BJP is also planning to hold a legislative party meeting on Sunday, after which the Chief Minister will be announced.