Who will be new Delhi chief minister? Buzz over these BJP names intensifies day after big win
Parvesh Verma, the leader who beat AAP's Arvind Kejriwal from the New Delhi constituency, is reportedly the frontrunner for the Delhi CM pick.
With the Bharatiya Janata Party making a grand comeback in Delhi, speculation is rife about the party's choice for the chief ministerial post. The results of the 2025 Delhi assembly election, declared by the Election Commission of India on Saturday, February 8, saw the saffron party ousting the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party with a decisive victory, securing 48 out of 70 seats.
The AAP managed to win only 22 seats.
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Parvesh Verma: Frontrunner
However, Delhiites remain keen to know who from the BJP will take charge of the city's key post. Topping the list of potential names is Parvesh Verma, the son of former Delhi chief minister late Sahib Singh Verma, who came out as a giant-killer in these elections, beating Arvind Kejriwal from the New Delhi assembly constituency.
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Several senior leaders of the saffron party's Delhi unit were among the winners, making them potential candidates in the chief ministerial race as well.
Ashish Sood, Pawan Sharma
A top BJP functionary, as cited by news agency PTI, said "Ashish Sood and former state secretary general (organisation) Pawan Sharma", are also possible faces in the running.
Ashish Sood won from the Janakpuri assembly constituency with 68,986 votes. A senior BJP leader, Sood has hands-on experience in administrative matters from his time in the South Delhi Municipal Corporation under BJP's rule.
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He is also the BJP's in-charge for Goa and co-in-charge for the Jammu and Kashmir unit.
Pawan Sharma won the Uttam Nagar constituency with a whopping 1,03,613 votes. Currently the co-charge for BJP Assam, Sharma is also one the leading contenders for the CM pick, party leaders said.
Other possible names
Other senior leaders to the top post include former Delhi BJP presidents Vijender Gupta and Satish Upadhyay, of which the former scored a hattrick of wins from Rohini with a margin of over 37,000 votes. Gupta has also served as the leader of the Opposition in the previous Delhi assembly.
Upadhyay, former vice-chairman of the New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC), bagged the Malviya Nagar seat with over 39,000 votes. The leader is believed to have close ties with the RSS leadership, BJP leaders said.
Upadhyay also serves as the co-in-charge for the party's Madhya Pradesh unit.
Women candidate
Despite this probable list of CM picks, the BJP leaders have not ruled out the chances of the central leadership leaning towards of woman candidate for the Delhi chief minister post.
Rekha Gupta and Shikha Roy are two such leaders who may be considered in that case, leaders said.
Shikha Roy defeated AAP bigwig Saurabh Bharadwaj from the Greater Kailash constituency with a margin of 3,188 votes. Meanwhile, Rekha Gupta emerged victorious against AAP's Bandana Kumari from the Shalimar Bagh assembly seat with a margin of over 29,000 votes.
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What does past experience say?
If the BJP brass decided to go ahead with someone from outside the legislative party, a few MPs could be considered for the CM post. These include East Delhi MP and Union minister Harsh Malhotra and North-East Delhi MP and key Purvanchali face Manoj Tiwari, a section of party leaders were cited as saying by PTI.
A senior BJP leader also cautioned that considering the past experiences in Rajasthan, Haryana, and Madhya Pradesh, there is little room left for speculation when it comes to CM picks.
"You never know... The national leadership can come out with an altogether fresh face who fits the bill and is capable of discharging the duties as the chief minister of Delhi amid high expectations of the people," he said.
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said the decision to pick the chief ministerial face will be taken by the central leadership of the BJP.
(With PTI inputs)
