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BJP to finalise name of Delhi CM only after PM Modi’s return: Reports

Cleaning Yamuna and implementation of Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme are likely to be among the topmost priorities of the new government.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president J.P. Nadda | PTI

Even as the Bharatiya Janata Party continues to hold parleys to elect the chief minister of Delhi, a final decision is likely only after Prime Minister Narendra Modi returns from the US.

According to reports, the CM pick will be from the newly elected MLAs and there will be no deputy CM.

The saffron party pulled off a landslide victory in the assembly elections, bagging 48 out of the 70 seats. The Aam Aadmi Party, which was seeking a third straight term, was reduced to 22 seats while the Congress drew a blank.

Quoting BJP insiders, the IANS reported that party president J.P. Nadda had stated that the chief minister would be selected from the elected MLAs and the legislature party meeting would take place after Modi's return.

Cleaning of Yamuna, which dominated the election campaign, is likely to be one of the foremost priorities of the new government. The issue had sparked a war of words between the BJP and the AAP after former CM Arvind Kejriwal accused the Haryana government—where the BJP is in power—of "mixing poison in the Yamuna river".

The BJP is also keen on implementing the Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme in the national capital.

"We have to implement the Ayushman Bharat scheme in Delhi. We will begin working on the Yamuna and finish the task within the given timeframe. Our priority is to bring the garbage mounts to ground zero," Union Minister Harsh Malhotra told news agency ANI.

The new government must take charge by February 26 when the tenure of the current assembly ends.