Decks cleared for Delhi CM pick as BJP appoints Ravi Shankar Prasad, Om Prakash Dhankar as central observers

While there is no clarity yet on who the party’s CM choice is, there is speculation that the selection of the central observers has a clear thought behind it. Prasad is from Bihar and is thus a face from Poorvanchal, a region that has a significant migrant population in Delhi. At the same time, Dhankar, who comes from Haryana, is a Jat leader and the community has a powerful presence in Delhi.

“The anticipation is that this will signal a CM from outside these two communities,” said a party leader.

There is strong speculation that the face for the Delhi CM could be a Sikh as this would enable the BJP to send across a signal to not only the Sikh voters of Delhi, which had seen the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, but also to Punjab, where the party is weak. While the Congress was routed in Punjab, the Aam Aadmi Party, which is in power in the state now, has just suffered a jolt in Delhi, thus casting a shadow on its future growth.

A BJP leader said that Arvinder Singh Lovely, who left the Congress to join the BJP, could be a frontrunner for the post as this would send a strong message to Sikh voters and disgruntled Congress workers in Punjab. Manjinder Singh Sirsa may also be in contention, another party leader said. Options like a woman chief minister or deputy chief minister, or leaders from the Dalit, Baniya or Punjabi communities are also being discussed.

Parvesh Verma, who defeated Arvind Kejriwal in New Delhi, is a strong contender for the top post but party leaders say that the BJP top leadership can always throw surprises. The CM picks of states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh were completely unexpected, and party insiders say that nothing can be said until the decision is announced.