New CM may take oath on Feb 20

New Delhi : The next chief minister of Delhi along with the council of ministers is likely to take oath at the Ramlila Maidan on February 20, party sources said on Monday.

The oath ceremony is likely to be held around 4.30 pm on February 20, which is expected to be attended by top BJP leaders, including chief ministers from the party-ruled states, the sources said.

A BJP legislative party meeting, which was to be held on Monday, has been postponed to most likely Wednesday when the party will finalise on the candidate for the chief minister's post, the sources said. The details of the oath ceremony will be discussed at the meeting, they added.

The BJP returned to power in Delhi after more than 26 years by sweeping the recent Assembly polls, the results of which were announced on February 8. The party ended the decade-long rule of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), winning 48 seats in the 70-member House to AAP's 22. The victory was sweetened by the defeat of AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, who lost his New Delhi seat to BJP's Parvesh Verma.

Launching a fresh attack on the BJP over its delay in announcing the CM and the cabinet for Delhi, the AAP on Monday said the saffron party has "no face" to run the government.

Senior AAP leader and Delhi's acting Chief Minister Atishi accused the BJP of lacking a credible leader to govern the national capital. "It's been ten days since the election results were announced. People thought that the BJP would declare its chief minister and the cabinet on February 9 and begin developmental works immediately. But it is now clear that they have no face to run Delhi," she said.

Atishi claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not trust any of the 48 BJP MLAs elected in Delhi and alleged that the party has no vision or plan for governance.

"The BJP knows that all they will do is loot the people of Delhi. If they don't have anyone capable of running the government, how will they work for people?" she asked. The political battle between the AAP and the BJP is set to escalate further as the delay in the saffron party's leadership decision comes after its decisive victory in the Delhi Assembly elections.