The new Delhi Chief Minister and the council of ministers are set to take oath at the Ramlila Maidan on Thursday evening — almost a fortnight after the BJP emerged victorious in the Assembly elections in the Capital. The allocation of portfolios, however, according to party insiders, “may take more time”. While several names are doing the rounds, the decision is likely to be announced on Wednesday, when the new BJP legislature party is scheduled to meet, party sources said. According to sources, multiple discussions were held over the weekend, including at a meeting of BJP national secretaries chaired by party president J P Nadda on Saturday. Vinod Tawde and Tarun Chugh, both national general secretaries of the BJP, have been given charge of preparations for the oath-taking ceremony. Besides the Chief Minister, six other ministers in the seven-member council of ministers are also likely to be sworn in, but portfolio allocation may take place later, said party sources. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official tour of the United States, the process of selection of the next Chief Election Commissioner, and the stampede at the New Delhi Railway Station have certainly had an impact on the process,” said a senior BJP leader, explaining the delay. “Another factor is RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat being in town for the ‘pravesh’ ceremony of Keshav Kunj (RSS Delhi headquarters) on February 19. If the observers for the process of picking the Delhi CM and the ministers are not chosen before then, they will likely be announced after the ceremony at Keshav Kunj,” the party leader said. According to party sources, this would be followed by a meeting of the BJP’s legislature party, where the 48 newly elected MLAs would be present, and the most senior observer would reveal the name of the CM. “This is standard procedure; the chit bearing the name of the individual chosen for the post of CM is set to be handed over to the most senior observer — who is usually a senior party leader and a member of the Union Cabinet — by the PM himself,” said a party source. Party insiders said the names — for CM and Council of Ministers — were likely to include “a mix of experience and youth”, with representation from each of the dominant caste and community groupings in the Capital. “While some of the party’s national leaders are of the opinion that longstanding karyakartas from the Baniya community could make the cut, MLAs from reserved seats are also considered to be in contention for a Cabinet berth given the fact that Delhi affords the party, which only has ST CMs in states such as Arunachal Pradesh (Pema Khandu), Chhattisgarh (Vishnu Deo Sai) and Odisha (Mohan Charan Majhi), the only opportunity to give representation to a Dalit as well as a woman Chief Minister,” a senior BJP leader said. “Since community will also be a major factor, others seen to be in the running include MLAs who come from Purvanchali backgrounds or have familial ties to the region; at least one Sikh is likely to be included in the Cabinet,” the party leader said. Earlier this month, the BJP returned to power in Delhi after 27 years, winning 48 of the 70 seats in the Assembly; the remaining 22 seats went to the AAP.
