BJP elects Vijender Gupta LoP of Delhi assembly

The position has been vacant since June 18, when Ramvir Singh Bidhuri resigned from the assembly upon being elected a member of parliament from South Delhi.

The legislature unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is the Opposition in Delhi assembly, on Monday elected Rohini legislator Vijender Gupta its leader in a meeting at the state office, BJP leaders aware of the development said.

Vijender Gupta addresses the Delhi assembly in 2015. (HT Archive)

BJP has seven MLAs in the 70-member assembly. The BJP MLAs will convey their decision to the assembly, after which a formal notification is likely to be issued declaring Gupta as the leader of the Opposition.

The LoP position has been vacant since June 18, when Ramvir Singh Bidhuri resigned from the assembly upon being elected a member of parliament from the South Delhi constituency.

“Ghonda MLA Ajay Mahawar proposed the name of Vijender Gupta for leader of the party in the assembly. MLAs Mohan Singh Bisht, OP Sharma, Anil Bajpai, Abhay Verma and Jitendra Mahajan seconded the proposal, thereby unanimously electing Vijender Gupta as the party leader,” Delhi BJP said in a statement.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has 61 MLAs in the assembly. Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, MLA from Badarpur, resigned after he was elected MP, and Patel Nagar MLA Raaj Kumar Anand was disqualified in June after he quit the AAP for the Bahujan Samaj Party. However, as there is less than a year in the assembly’s tenure, no by-election will be held for these two assembly segments, officials previously clarified.

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Vijender Gupta, a former Delhi BJP chief, thanked the party leadership and said he would continue to raise the issues affecting the people of Delhi. “This responsibility comes at a critical time when governance in Delhi has completely failed under the AAP government. The people of Delhi feel betrayed and see the BJP, under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi, as the only party capable of providing pro-people and clean governance. We are committed to exposing the failures of the AAP government at all levels and voicing the concerns of the people on the floor of the House. We will demand the convening of the assembly session, which has been stalled by the AAP government,” Gupta said.

An AAP official said they hope Gupta will engage in positive politics. “We hope that Vijender Gupta will engage in positive politics, and will play the role of the leader of a constructive Opposition, both inside and outside the assembly. He is expected to facilitate the swift passage of decisions made by the AAP government that benefit the people of Delhi. We believe that not only will he conduct himself as a responsible legislator, but also ensure that other members of his party do the same,” the AAP official said.

Gupta served as the LoP in the Delhi assembly between 2015 and 2020. Gupta served as the president of the Delhi BJP unit from 2010 to 2013. He served as the councillor of Rohini ward from 1997 to 2012, during which he also served as the MCD’s standing committee chairperson between 2007 and 2009.