Former IPS officer Kiran Bedi, who was associated with Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal in the Lokpal agitation, on Thursday joined the BJP. Her inclusion in BJP was indicative of the party's assessment of the political situation in Delhi. Bedi who joined BJP in the presence of party chief Amit Shah and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, will in all likelihood be the 'undeclared CM candidate' in the upcoming polls and act as a counter-weight to Arvind Kejriwal, even as the party attempts to overcome the infighting in the state unit.
Amit Shah refused to declare Bedi as the CM candidate but said, "BJP will be strengthened by Kiran Bedi joining the party and afterwards during government formation in Delhi," a clear signal that she would be an important part of the government if BJP wins a majority. Top sources in the party told ET that while there were reservations on Bedi's induction by local leaders, they were brushed aside by Shah. "We just hope that she is not defeated by in house forces," added the source.
"Amitbhai felt that the biggest problem faced by the party unit in Delhi was leadership. Nobody in the current crop had much currency with the people, and with Arvind Kejriwal on the other side, there had to be a counterweight," said the source. Kejriwal's poster campaign pitting himself against a lack-lustre Jagdish Mukhi, the leader of opposition in Delhi for the last decade, was the cue for BJP to realise PM Narendra Modi could not be expected to be the counterweight. "Modiji has already trounced Kejriwal in Varanasi, here we needed to counter the idea that we have no faces," said the source.
An office-bearer of the party felt the case of Delhi was different from the 'Maharashtra model' of not declaring a candidate. BJP followed the formula in Haryana and Jharkhand as well. "In other states, the challenge came from discredited governments facing heavy antiincumbency. In Delhi, Kejriwal was barely there, his hold on the core slum vote is intact, and we need a face," said the source. "Bedi is also popular among the middle class, at least 6% of our middle class vote drifted to AAP," we want it back," the source added.
Amit Shah refused to declare Bedi as the CM candidate but said, "BJP will be strengthened by Kiran Bedi joining the party and afterwards during government formation in Delhi," a clear signal that she would be an important part of the government if BJP wins a majority. Top sources in the party told ET that while there were reservations on Bedi's induction by local leaders, they were brushed aside by Shah. "We just hope that she is not defeated by in house forces," added the source.
"Amitbhai felt that the biggest problem faced by the party unit in Delhi was leadership. Nobody in the current crop had much currency with the people, and with Arvind Kejriwal on the other side, there had to be a counterweight," said the source. Kejriwal's poster campaign pitting himself against a lack-lustre Jagdish Mukhi, the leader of opposition in Delhi for the last decade, was the cue for BJP to realise PM Narendra Modi could not be expected to be the counterweight. "Modiji has already trounced Kejriwal in Varanasi, here we needed to counter the idea that we have no faces," said the source.
An office-bearer of the party felt the case of Delhi was different from the 'Maharashtra model' of not declaring a candidate. BJP followed the formula in Haryana and Jharkhand as well. "In other states, the challenge came from discredited governments facing heavy antiincumbency. In Delhi, Kejriwal was barely there, his hold on the core slum vote is intact, and we need a face," said the source. "Bedi is also popular among the middle class, at least 6% of our middle class vote drifted to AAP," we want it back," the source added.
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