BJP leaders promoting themselves as Delhi chief ministerial nominee of the party

NEW DELHI: Even as Delhi's political scenario remains a subject of speculation, BJP leaders are promoting themselves as the chief ministerial nominee of the party. From posters and dedicated pages on social networking sites to aggressive campaigning by public relations agencies, there is hectic activity to pitch some leaders for the top job.

Posters promoting the candidature of the New Delhi BJP MP, Meenakshi Lekhi, have been put up by a group called Delhi For Good Governance in her constituency. Similarly, supporters of the BJP MLA from Janakpuri, Jagdish Mukhi, have started a Facebook page called Jagdish Mukhi for CM. Both Lekhi and Mukhi denied having any knowledge about the campaigns. "I don't know about any group or campaign promoting me as a Delhi CM candidate. Moreover, the party has to decide on such issues," said Lekhi.

After Delhi BJP president Harsh Vardhan's elevation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Cabinet, the party will have to look for a new state president an CM candidate. While several senior leaders are jostling for the top job, sources said appointment of a new president tops the party's agenda.

"With Vardhan now a part of the Cabinet, we will have to urgently decide on the Delhi president as he can't handle two important posts. Re-election is likely in Delhi and we need to prepare for it. We need a full-time state president so that we can plan the election campaign,'' said a senior BJP leader.

For the post of party president, several names are being bandied about. While BJP councillor Satish Upadhyay and Ashish Sood are considered strong contenders, many are pushing for Delhi BJP's chief spokesman Sanjay Kaul.

While many BJP leaders like Ramvir Singh Bidhuri are trying hard to form a government in Delhi, sources in the party said a re-election is inevitable. In any case, BJP will need a CM face. Initially, BJP was planning to pitch Vardhan as the CM candidate; there were also rumours about former IPS Kiran Bedi being considered for the CM candidate.

Sources said that a decision regarding Delhi's political future will soon be taken. With many BJP leaders are pushing for their candidature, sources said senior leaders have a tough job at hand.