New Delhi: There are indications that the BJP may project social activist and former IPS officer Kiran Bedi as Delhi chief ministerial candidate after the Lok Sabha elections. The party plans to rope in Ms Bedi only if Narendra Modi becomes the Prime Minister.
A section of the BJP leadership feels that if Mr Modi wins then he should announce a series of welfare measures for Delhiites before Assembly polls are held again.
Some local BJP heavyweights have also suggested that the Delhi police be split into two wings one for VIP security that will stay under the Centre’s control, and another to handle local law and order that will work under the state government.
Sources said that the party leadership is seriously thinking of projecting Ms Bedi as CM candidate as it feels she is the best bet to defuse the hype around the Aam Aadmi Party in the Delhi elections.
“If Kiranji contests, she will take the steam out of Kejriwal’s poll campaign,” a senior saffron leader told this newspaper.
Ms Bedi, winner of the Magsaysay Award, was earlier part of social activist Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption movement, but became a major critic of Mr Kejriwal later after he announced his entry into mainstream politics by forming the AAP.
The party leadership is also weighing the pros and cons of Ms Bedi’s entry into the Assembly polls. “If Harsh Vardhan, who was projected as CM candidate in the recent polls, wins the Chandni Chowk Lok Sabha seat, he is likely to get a berth in the Union Cabinet,” a senior BJP leader said.
Mr Modi has himself praised Mr Vardhan’s role in the pulse polio programme.
