Major organisational rejig likely in Delhi BJP to revive party cadre

Adesh Kumar Gupta, who will take charge on Friday after replacing actor-turned-politician Manoj Tiwari as the Delhi BJP chief on Tuesday, said it is important to strengthen the cadre, especially in slums and unauthorized colonies.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is planning a major change to its organizational setup in Delhi to reinvigorate the cadre following the state unit leadership change on Tuesday.

The BJP managed to win just eight of the 70 seats in the Delhi assembly elections this year as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) swept to power for a second term. (PTI)

Adesh Kumar Gupta, who will take charge on Friday after replacing actor-turned-politician Manoj Tiwari as the Delhi BJP chief on Tuesday, said it is important to strengthen the cadre, especially in slums and unauthorized colonies.

“We will put in place a new team soon. It will be a mix of new and old people. Our aim is to reach out to all the sections, especially those living in slums and unauthorized colonies. These are the areas where we need to strengthen our cadre,” said Gupta.

The BJP managed to win just eight of the 70 seats in the Delhi assembly elections this year as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) swept to power for a second term.

BJP leaders say Gupta is an old hand and aware of the key issues.

Delhi BJP in-charge Shyam Jaju said it is always helpful to have someone who knows the party cadre well. “He [Gupta] has risen through the ranks and has worked at every level. He knows the problem areas and will be able to fix those in no time. This is important to strengthen the cadre and start work for the next election.”

Gupta on Wednesday hit out at the Delhi government over the alleged discrepancy in the data on its mobile application on the availability of beds in hospitals. He said the AAP government has been misleading the people. “First, it was about the death figures due to Covid-19 and now it is about details of available beds in hospitals. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal launched the mobile application stating that 100% beds are available in seven hospitals. A few hours later, there was information mismatch on the mobile application and hospital data,” said Gupta.

A Delhi government spokesperson conceded “teething troubles” in the app but described it as an important tool. The spokesperson said the data on bed availability is provided by the hospitals and assured that if patients were denied admission despite beds being available, strict action would be taken against them.