Delhi's new CM likely to be sworn in after PM Narendra Modi's return from US: Report

The BJP, which won 48 out of 70 seats to return to power in the national capital after 27 years, has started hectic parleys to decide the new CM.

The new Delhi chief minister is likely to be sworn in after February 13, following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the United States, India Today reported.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi being garlanded by BJP MPs Manoj Tiwari, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri and Bansuri Swaraj during celebrations at the BJP HQ after the party won the Delhi Assembly election, in New Delhi, Saturday.(PTI)

HT cannot independently verify this information.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, which won 48 out of 70 seats to return to power in the national capital after 27 years, has started hectic parleys to decide the new chief minister.

BJP president JP Nadda met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday as the party's exercise to pick the new Delhi chief minister gathered pace, PTI reported.

BJP's Delhi unit president Virendra Sachdeva had said that the decision on the chief minister would be taken by the party's central leadership.

He added that all newly-elected MLAs were capable of discharging the duties assigned to them.

Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to visit the US on February 12-13, and will meet US president Donald Trump. It will be the first meeting between the two leaders since the Republican's inauguration.

According to the India Today report, the BJP is expected to stake claim to power next week after Modi's return from the US.

The BJP lost power in 1998 to the Congress, which ruled the national capital for the next three terms till 2013 and then AAP remained in power for over a decade.

The AAP was voted out of power after it could win just 22 seats. Several top AAP leaders including party convenor Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Satyender Jain and Saurabh Bharadwaj lost.

BJP's chief ministerial probables

BJP's Parvesh Verma, a leader from the Jat community who defeated AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal, has emerged as a “giant killer”. He is considered one of the potential candidates for the top post.

Seasoned organisational leaders like Satish Upadhyay, Vijender Gupta, Ashish Sood and Pawan Sharma are being talked about.

A BJP leader told PTI the party could also consider an MLA with 'Purvanchal' background, a Sikh, or a woman, depending on the political calculations guiding its top brass.

Past experience, including in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan in 2023, and Odisha last year, leave little room for speculation on such matters, he added.

(With PTI inputs)