Delhi polls: BJP reached out, Kiran Bedi asked for Delhi CM’s post

NEW DELHI: With her occasional statements and regular tweets, Kiran Bedi has been warming up to BJP for a while. There were speculation she could be fielded in Delhi polls, but the dramatic way in which she ended up as being the chief ministerial candidate just four days after she joined the party took even the state leadership by surprise. ET spoke to several BJP leaders to piece together the sequence of events that led to BJP chief Amit Shah announcing her as CM candidate.

They said the decision to make a departure from the tested practice of seeking mandate in the name of Narendra Modi was taken by the top BJP troika of PM Modi, Shah and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. It was Jaitley who approached her first after getting the go-ahead from Modi and Shah. BJP leaders said Bedi had set a precondition that she be named the CM candidate if she were to lead the campaign as a direct competitor to AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal.

“She had figured the party needed her. She was waiting for an offer befitting her stature,” said a party leader, adding: “No one knows Kejriwal and his tactics better than Bedi.” BJP leadership felt unlike Maharashtra or Haryana, Kejriwal’s daunting presence could pose a credible challenge to the party in Delhi.

The HQ was any way not much impressed with its state leadership whose organisational skills were questioned after the lackluster show at the Modi address in Ramlila Maidan recently. A recent BJP survey gave the BJP more than 40 seats out of the total 70 Assembly constituencies. “BJP wanted a decisive win. Something above 50. Shah was personally monitoring the situation.

There was too much infighting in the Delhi unit. So RSS was roped in about six weeks ago,” said a BJP leader. The decision to induct Bedi was not discussed with the city unit of BJP since the central leaders expected trouble. “Even Delhi chief Satish Upadhyaya was not taken into confidence. Delhi in-charge Prabhat Jha knew about it,” said a senior leader.

Bedi as the CM candidate was a topic that had been discussed before the formal parliamentary board meeting on Monday, where the main decision taken was not to field her in Kejriwal’s New Delhi seat. A direct contest would have elevated Kejriwal’s profile even higher, the leaders felt, and hence opted for the safe seat of Krishna Nagar.

(With inputs from Rakesh Mohan Chaturvedi)