Delhi CM's Oath Likely On THIS Date, 15 BJP MLAs Shortlisted For Top Post: Reports

BJP President Virendra Sachdeva, BJP Delhi in-charge Baijayant Panda, BJP National General Secretary BL Santosh, BJP MPs from Delhi and newly-elected MLAs before a meeting after the victory in Delhi Assembly elections. (Photo: PTI)

Delhi CM Race: As the suspense over the next Chief Minister of Delhi continues, fresh developments have surfaced, giving hints about the names being considered for the top post. According to media reports, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is most likely to pick a CM from the elected MLAs and not MPs of the saffron party.

Out of 48 MLAs in the national capital, the BJP has shortlisted 15 names, and from them, nine will be selected for the Chief Minister, ministers, and Speaker positions. Amid the buzz over the CM post, names like Rekha Gupta, Ashish Sood, Satish Upadhyay, and Shikha Roy are doing the rounds as potential candidates, as reported by the Indian Express. The swearing-in ceremony of the new CM is likely to be held on February 19 or 20, India Today reported, citing government sources.

The legislative party meeting may be held on February 17 or 18. Preparations for the formation of a government in the national capital will likely intensify after Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in New Delhi late Friday after concluding his visits to France and the United States.

The BJP stormed back to power in the national capital after sweeping aside the AAP, winning 48 of the 70 seats in the assembly polls. The Arvind Kejriwal-led party secured only 22 seats, with top leaders like Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Saurabh Bharadwaj and Satyendar Jain suffering defeats. The Congress drew a blank in the national capital for the third time in a row. The polling in the Delhi elections was held on February 5 and votes were counted on February 8.