Harsh Vardhan to be faction-ridden BJP's face for Delhi polls

Ending suspense, BJP today declared amiable leader Harsh Vardhan as its Chief Ministerial candidate for the December 4 polls, ignoring opposition by city unit chief Vijay Goel.
The decision to project 59-year-old Harsh Vardhan, former minister in the central and Delhi governments, was taken at a hurriedly-convened meeting here of the BJP Parliamentary Board, the party's top body.
The decision was announced by party chief Rajnath Singh at a press conference with Goel, an opponent of Harsh Vardhan, seated next to him.
"The Parliamentary Board discussed who should be the chief ministerial candidate of the party in the Delhi. After discussing all aspects, we decided unanimously to declare Harsh Vardhan as our chief ministerial candidate," Singh said after about 30-minute meeting.

Harsh Vardhan, an ENT doctor who is four-time MLA, has a tough challenge of leading the faction-ridden party to wrest power from Congress which has been ruling the capital since 1998.
With the party unit sharply divided, BJP was in a dilemma for the last several months on the issue. The party high command had been weighing whether to project a candidate or not project anyone at all.

While Goel has been virtually projecting himself as the Chief Ministerial candidate since he is the party unit head, there was opposition within the ranks to his leadership.
The decision to project Harsh Vardhan, who has a clean image, is aimed at boosting the party's prospects.

Goel, who was told by Rajnath Singh about the decision before it was announced, said, "I am happy that the Parliamentary Board has decided to project Harsh Vardhan as party's chief ministerial candidate. I am going to work hard to ensure our victory.