Delhi CM: Purvanchali from Jharkhand Emerges Dark Horse

BJP to Name Delhi CM Soon Amid Hectic Lobbying

By Manish Anand

New Delhi, February 10: Hectic lobbying is underway for the post of the Chief Minister in Delhi within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The announcement is likely on return of Prime Minister Narendra Modi from two-nation tour.

Union Home Minister for Home Affairs Amit Shah held consultations with the BJP chief JP Nadda. Shah will also hold consultations with senior leaders of the BJP.

Nadda is also holding parallel consultations. At least a dozen elected legislators within the BJP have turned CM post hopefuls.

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The first-term MLAs are particularly fancying their chances to become CM of Delhi. They hope that the BJP brass will do Rajasthan like experiment in Delhi.

The BJP has made significant inroads into the Purvanchali vote base. “One of the elected Purvanchali leaders may get the nod to become Delhi CM,” said a senior BJP functionary.

The most visible Purvanchali face of the BJP in Delhi is Kapil Mishra. He won the Delhi Assembly elections from the Karawal Nagar constituency. Mishra is a polarising figure with past spent in the Aam Adami Party (AAP).

“Ajay Mahawar is truly the dark horse in the race to become the CM of Delhi,” said a senior BJP functionary. Mahawar again won from the Ghonda Assembly seat. He had polled a whopping 57 per cent votes from the same constituency in the North-east Delhi.

“Mahawar hails from Jharkhand. The BJP can send strong messages to Purvanchali vote base in Delhi, the people in Jharkhand, and also the electorate in Bihar,” added the BJP functionary.

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Mahawar is a businessman by profession. He holds a post-graduate degree. Mahawar also has no criminal records. He is the third term MLA from the BJP.

Chandan Choudhary is also in the race for the CM pick of the BJP. He is also a Purvanchali, hailing from Bihar.

Choudhary won from the Sangam Vihar Assembly seat. This constituency has a strong vote base of the people from Bihar.

Delhi unit BJP vice president Abhay Verma is also a CM hopeful. He won the Luxmi Nagar Assembly seat. Hailing from the core group of the Delhi BJP, Verma enjoys access to the central party leadership.

“If a Purvanchali wins the race to become the CM of Delhi, it could be one of the four prominent faces,” added the BJP functionary.

Purvanchali vote base is roughly seen to be 30 per cent in Delhi. The electorate has influence on at least 35 Assembly seats. Purvanchalis settled in areas outside the old colonies of Delhi amid a massive wave of migration from Bihar, Jharkhand, and eastern Uttar Pradesh in the 1990s.

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About The Author

Manish Anand

Manish Anand is a senior journalist with more than two decades of hardcore reporting on beats such as Prime Minister’s Office, Parliament, BJP, Congress, Planning Commission, NITI Aayog, and scores of Union Ministries.

His past has been with The New Indian Express, The Asian Age/Deccan Chronicle, and The Statesman.

For about 15 years, Manish was also a regular commentator and host for talks on AIR on foreign affairs.

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