JOIN USThe BJP on Sunday put off a decision on the announcement of its chief ministerial candidate for Delhi as senior leader Vijay Goel mounted efforts to oppose the projection of former city unit chief Harsh Vardhan as a contender for the top post.
The announcement of the BJP’s chief ministerial candidate was expected on Sunday, but Goel, who was aspiring to the post, launched massive salvage operations as Harsh Vardhan’s elevation appeared imminent.
Goel, a former minister of state in the PMO, met senior BJP leaders Narendra Modi, Rajnath Singh, L K Advani, Sushma Swaraj and Nitin Gadkari to impress upon them the political efforts made by him over the last eight months.
Goel had rubbed senior BJP leaders in the Delhi unit of the party the wrong way by unilaterally building the campaign for the Delhi Assembly election around him.
He is learnt to have told the leaders that the momentum gained by the BJP campaign would be lost if he was not projected as the chief ministerial candidate.