New Delhi:
The Bharatiya Janata Party’s guest list for Thursday – when the new Delhi Chief Minister will take his/her oath, 11 days after it won the election – includes gig workers, cab and auto rickshaw drivers, farmers, and chiefs of jhuggis, or slums, sources told NDTV Wednesday afternoon.
Women beneficiaries of the party’s welfare schemes have also been invited; women voters turned out in large numbers in the election this month, and their increasing importance to political parties’ electoral fortunes was underlined by the BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party trying to woo them.
As it turned out, it was the BJP’s promises of cash transfers that won.
The invites to rickshaw drivers and farmers is also key, given the former are seen as a strong support base for AAP boss Arvind Kejriwal and the latter has protested with the centre over the MSP issue.
The list of ‘aam aadmi‘ invites, sources said, reflects the BJP’s well-worn ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas‘, or ‘development with all, for all’, pitch, and the desire for an ‘inclusive’ government in the city-state.
The list will, of course, also include a phalanx of high-profile names, including members of the union cabinet, the chief ministers (and their respective deputies) from the nearly two dozen states now ruled by the BJP and its allies, and the party’s Lok Sabha MPs.
In addition, over 50 movie stars and industrialists have been sent invitations. Diplomats from major nations, whose embassies and high commissions dot posh central Delhi, have also been invited.
Invitation card for the swearing-in ceremony of the Delhi Chief Minister
Courtesy invitations have also been extended to Atishi, the outgoing Chief Minister, and Mr Kejriwal, as well as Devender Yadav, the chief of the Congress’ Delhi unit.
Amid the flurry of invitations, who the Chief Minister will be remains a matter of considerable suspense.
READ | Key Meet At PM’s House As BJP Zeroes In On Delhi Chief Minister
The BJP’s Parliamentary Board, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, met at noon to decide on the names of ‘observers’, who will then oversee the meeting of the BJP’s 48 new MLAs at 6.15 pm, at which names of the Chief Minister, members of his/her cabinet, and the Speaker are likely to be finalised.
Grand Swearing-In Ceremony
The oath ceremony – to be held at the city’s iconic Ramlila Maidan – will run from 11 am to 12.34 pm, sources said. The oath itself will be at 12.05 pm.
#WATCH | Preparations underway at Ramlila Maidan ahead of the oath ceremony of the new CM of Delhi.
BJP Legislature Party meeting will be held today. The swearing-in ceremony will be held tomorrow, 20th February pic.twitter.com/k7Kr1Dictm
— ANI (@ANI) February 19, 2025
Sources said three stages will be set up – one for the Prime Minister, Home Minister Amit Shah, Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena, and the new Chief Minister, a second for the invited religious leaders, and a third for MPs and MLAs, of whom over 200, from the BJP and allies, have been invited.
Delhi Chief Minister Suspense
Last week NDTV was told a shortlist of 15 names had been finalised, from among the 48 BJP MLAs, to fill the posts of Chief Minister, members of his/her cabinet, and Assembly Speaker.
READ | BJP’s Delhi ‘Wapsi’ Complete, Focus Now On Chief Minister Question
The odds-on favourite for the big post is two-time ex-MP Parvesh Verma, who defeated Arvind Kejriwal to win the New Delhi constituency.
Others likely on the BJP’s chief ministerial shortlist are the party’s Delhi unit leader, Virendra Sachdeva, and Bansuri Swaraj, a first-time MP who is the daughter of the late former Union Minister Sushma Swaraj. Satish Upadhyay, the BJP’s Brahmin face in Delhi, is also an option.
There has also been buzz that the BJP could pick a woman as Chief Minister. Four of the BJP’s new MLAs are women – Neelam Pahalwan, Rekha Gupta, Poonam Sharma, and Shikha Roy.
READ | Delhi’s Next Chief Minister A Woman? Buzz As BJP Brainstorms
And there are caste equations, something which the BJP has historically considered when selecting Chief Ministers; similar delays after wins in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan in 2023 are an example.
Delhi Election Result
The BJP swept to power winning 48 of Delhi’s 70 seats.
The AAP, which scored thumping wins in the 2015 and 2020 polls, winning 67 and 62 seats, respectively, flopped this time, winning just 22. The Congress was routed for a third consecutive time.
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