Delhi’s next Chief Minister could be a woman or SC leader: Sources

New Delhi: With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) securing a decisive victory in the Delhi Assembly election, reports have emerged that the party is considering a woman or a Scheduled Caste leader for the chief minister’s post.

Among the party’s 48 newly elected MLAs, four are women—Neelam Pahalwan, Rekha Gupta, Poonam Sharma, and Shikha Roy. Neelam Pahalwan made history as the first woman MLA from Najafgarh, while Rekha Gupta, a former Delhi University Students’ Union president, won from Shalimar Bagh. Poonam Sharma secured victory in Wazirpur, and Shikha Roy unseated senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and former minister Saurabh Bharadwaj in Greater Kailash.

The party is also weighing caste considerations, with the possibility of selecting a Scheduled Caste MLA. Among the BJP’s newly elected legislators, four belong to the Scheduled Caste community—Raj Kumar Chauhan (Mangolpuri), Ravikant Ujjain (Trilokpuri), Ravinder Indraj Singh (Bawana), and Kailash Gangwal (Madipur).

At the same time, Parvesh Verma is emerging as a strong contender for the post after his high-profile victory against AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal in the New Delhi constituency. A former two-time MP from West Delhi, Verma is the son of former Delhi Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma. Other prominent names in contention include former Delhi BJP chief and Malviya Nagar MLA Satish Upadhyay, senior party leader Vijender Gupta, Janakpuri MLA Ashish Sood, and Uttam Nagar legislator Pawan Sharma. However, the BJP has a history of making unexpected choices when appointing chief ministers.

The party leadership is yet to announce a final decision, with deliberations ongoing at the highest levels. Soon after the BJP secured 48 seats in the 70-member Assembly—ending AAP’s decade-long rule—Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and party president JP Nadda met to discuss government formation.

As the Prime Minister departs for the United States, the swearing-in ceremony is expected to take place after his return. BJP sources said the event will be held on a grand scale to mark the party’s return to power in Delhi after 26 years. Chief ministers from all National Democratic Alliance (NDA)-ruled states are likely to be invited to the ceremony.