Harsh Vardhan: From doctor to BJP's Delhi CM candidate

Fondly called "Doctor Saab," senior Delhi BJP leader and former health minister Harsh Vardhan has got what was denied to him five years ago -- a chance to be the party's chief minister candidate.

A self-effacing and soft spoken ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist, Harsh Vardhan entered politics in 1993. On Wednesday, he was declared the face of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Delhi, dashing the hopes of outspoken state unit chief Vijay Goel. He takes on the challenge of being pitched against Congress Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit who has been in office for three consecutive terms.

Three-time MLA from Delhi's Krishna Nagar constituency, Harsh Vardhan, 59, was elected to the Delhi assembly in 1993 and held various portfolios, including education, law and health in the BJP government.

The BJP was in power in Delhi from 1993 to 1998.

Harsh Vardhan, who enjoys wide support among the party rank and file, has a clean image. He is widely credited with pioneering the pulse polio programme in India which also helped him earn a name for himself.

The assembly elections in Dec will be a litmus test for him and a victory could come as a timely gift for completing 20 years in politics.

Delhi polls are on Dec 4 and results will be out Dec 8.

Incidentally, Vardhan will turn 60 Dec 13.

Harsh Vardhan also enjoys the support of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), the parent organisation of the saffron party. RSS support ensured that he was nominated chief minister candidate of Delhi.

But it has not, so far, been a smooth journey.

In 2008, though Harsh Vardhan was the party's state unit chief, it was senior leader V.K. Malhotra who was declared chief minister candidate for Delhi. Later, there were those who blamed the naming of Malhotra rather than Vardhan as chief minister candidate for the party's defeat in the assembly polls.

According to sources, what seemed to have tipped the scale in favour of Harsh Vardhan as CM candidate this time is Vijay Goel's aggressive projection of himself for the top post and an evident unilateral style of functioning.

Harsh Vardhan was born Dec 13, 1954. He attended the Anglo-Sanskrit Victoria Jubilee Senior Secondary School in Delhi and the GSVM Medical College in Kanpur from where he obtained his MBBS and MS degrees, with specialisation in ENT.

He is married to Nutan, a specialist in hospital administration and has two sons and a daughter.

Harsh Vardhan has maintained a low profile in politics, especially after the BJP's debacle in the 2008 elections.

The BJP has, at present, 24 seats in the 70-member Delhi assembly. The Congress has 43.

Sources close to him said Vardhan, who has a clinic in Krishna Nagar, was mostly tending to patients and not so active in politics this time. But given his wide popularity, the BJP named him its chief minister candidate.

This time too, it will not be smooth sailing for Harsh Vardhan. Not only is the party pitted against the Congress, it has the Aam Admi Party (AAP) too to contend with.