Harsh Vardhan to lead BJP in Delhi polls

Announcement comes after much struggle and calculation among party seniors

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday named Harsh Vardhan as the chief ministerial candidate for the coming Assembly elections in Delhi. The announcement ended speculation which had seen party rivalry come out in the open.

National President Rajnath Singh said,“The parliamentary board discussed who should be the chief ministerial candidate of the party in Delhi. After discussing all aspects, we decided unanimously to declare Harsh Vardhan as our candidate.”

Vardhan, 58, is a four-time legislator in Delhi. A doctor, Vardhan has twice been the president of the Delhi unit. However, under his presidency, BJP has lost two Assembly elections in 2003 and 2008.


“First, we will give the state freedom from the Congress’ corruption and then, we will free the nation from it,” said Vardhan after his elevation. The BJP is projecting him as a professional with a clean image to counter the Aam Aadmi Party’s Arvind Kejriwal.

The parliamentary board  includes L K Advani, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and Singh. Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, also a member, was unavailable for Wednesday’s meeting but had indicated he was in favour of Vardhan.

Over the past week, leadership rivalry within the BJP came out in the open after Vijay Goel, president of the Delhi unit, threatened resignation if he was not declared the chief ministerial candidate. Goel had projected himself as the face of the party in the capital, even as the BJP remained non-committal on his name.

As the days to the election drew closer, Goel asked the central leadership to declare his name.

Last week, Goel visited Nitin Gadkari, party in-charge for elections in Delhi, and asked him to support his candidature. Gadkari indicated to Goel that he favoured Vardhan.

As reality dawned on him, Goel made a final effort and marched uninvited to a meeting of leaders who were discussing poll preparedness for the Chhattisgarh elections.

Goel was banking on Singh, who has been his supporter. However, as the RSS made clear to Singh that it favoured Vardhan, Goel threatened resignation. A parliamentary board meeting was then summoned.

On Wednesday, though, Goel was seen congratulating Vardhan. Leaders of the party are fearing the internal rivalry could damage prospects in the elections. The party, is therefore likely to keep Goel out of Delhi politics. He is expected to be mollified by the offer of a Lok Sabha seat.