Party will decide Chief Minister, says BJP’s Delhi president Virendra Sachdeva

The BJP was leading in 38 seats and the AAP in 27, according to early trends on the Election Commission

New Delhi: The next Delhi Chief Minister will be from the BJP but the central leadership will decide on who it will be, the party’s Delhi president Virendra Sachdeva said on Saturday as votes were counted for the assembly elections held earlier this week.

The BJP was leading in 38 seats and the AAP in 27, according to early trends on the Election Commission website. “The results so far are in line with our expectations but we will wait for the final outcome,” Sachdeva told reporters after offering prayers at the Hanuman Temple in Connaught Place.

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According to Sachdeva, BJP candidates had worked diligently and Delhi’s voters had chosen development and a corruption-free governance model. “The people have picked Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership because they wanted a model of development.”

Asserting that the BJP would form a “double-engine government” in Delhi, he said, “We have no hesitation in saying that this win is a result of PM Modi’s vision. We will ensure that Delhi gets a strong and stable government.”

Taking a dig at AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal and his party, he said the BJP fought the elections on real issues affecting Delhiites such as broken roads, liquor policy controversies, dirty water and corruption.

Accusing Kejriwal of avoiding accountability, Sachdeva said, “Whenever we questioned him on these issues, he either stayed silent or ran away. He tried to win elections by making false promises.”

In his view, the people of Delhi understood their struggles and voted for change. “Delhi’s pain is real, and the people have voted to end it by choosing PM Modi‘s leadership,” he said.