The BJP has appointed Union minister Prakash Javadekar as the in-charge for the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections, along with ministers Hardeep Singh Puri and Nityanand Rai. As in charge of the poll preparation, their role will include formulating a strategy by holding regular meetings with Delhi unit leaders, and figuring out a campaign style that would give the BJP an edge. Senior leaders said Javadekar has been chosen to spearhead the polls because he has handled organisational affairs in different states during several elections, the most recent stint being in Rajasthan during the Lok Sabha polls. Javadekar is also a relative outsider to Delhi’s politics, and would therefore be free of biases and uninfluenced by several “camps” that exist, a senior leader said. Party leaders said Puri was a “natural choice” because of his keen understanding of several issues in the capital, especially given that he is the Union Minister for Housing & Urban Affairs. Senior leaders believe he can tackle opponents in a nuanced way on issues of sealing, the master plan and AAP’s promise of making Delhi Metro free for women. “Regularisation of unauthorised colonies will be major topic of discussion in Delhi, and BJP would want to showcase its achievements. In such a case, the work done by Puri becomes important,” a senior leader said. Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai’s role as co-in-charge would not be limited to strategising; senior leaders hope he will also use his influence to convince Purvanchali voters to gravitate towards the BJP. A senior leader said that his network in Bihar could be instrumental in influencing migrant voters in the capital. “Being the party’s Bihar president, Rai has a support base of a formidable chunk of influential Purvanchali leadership who are active in Bihar as well as Delhi,” the leader said. Rai started as student leader in ABVP before becoming an MLA from Hajipur constituency in Bihar assembly in 2000. He later became MP from Ujiarpur in the 2014 and 2019 general elections. Purvanchalis, a term used in Delhi’s political parlance for people from Eastern UP, Bihar and Jharkhand, dominate 20 Assembly constituencies or 80 municipal wards where they constitute 17-47 per cent of the vote share. They also constitute over 30% of Delhi’s population. Purvanchali-dominated seats in Delhi include Karawal Nagar, Kirari, Badli, Burari, Seemapuri, Gokalpuri, Matiala, Vikaspuri, Dwarka, Nangloi, Rithala, Uttam Nagar, Sangam Vihar, Deoli and Badarpur.
