Delhi: Harsh Vardhan's name doing rounds as BJP's CM candidate

Senior BJP leader Harsh Vardhan's name is doing the rounds again as the party's Chief Ministerial candidate in Delhi assembly elections even as a number of senior state leaders have conveyed to the central leadership their unhappiness over the style of functioning of Vijay Goel.

Sources in Delhi BJP said a sizable number of party leaders are of the opinion that BJP must have a chief ministerial face to take on formidable Congress incumbent Shiela Dikshit.

Expressing their opposition to Delhi BJP chief Goel, several leaders of the party's Delhi unit have conveyed to the party's central leadership that they will not resist any move to declare Vardhan as the Chief Ministerial candidate.

They said Vardhan, a former Delhi minister and senior party leader, has a clean image and that he would be able to put up a united fight to dethrone the Congress dispensation which has been in power for the last 15 years.

"We have conveyed our views to the leadership on the issue," a senior leader said.

The sources said Vardhan could manage to enlist the support of RSS as he has a very "cordial relationship" with it.

Accusing Goel of encouraging factionalism dividing the party ahead of the elections, a number of senior leaders have conveyed to party's Delhi election in-charge Nitin Gadkari about their grivances.

Asked about the issue, Gadkari had earlier this month said the party has at least seven leaders who are suitable for the chief ministerial post and that a final decision on the issue will be taken at an "appropriate time".

The sources said the Parliamentary Board of the party will deliberate on the issue soon and take a decision.

Some leaders in Delhi BJP said the party would complete the exercise of finalising candidates for the polls by the end of October and then will take a decision on the Chief Ministerial candidate.

They said Goel has been trying hard to impress upon the central leaders so that his name is announced as a candidate for the top post.

The party feels Delhi assembly elections are one of the crucial state polls ahead of the Lok Sabha elections and the party cannot afford to lose it for a fourth time in a row.

The stakes for the party are high in view of the campaign being mounted for 2014 Lok Sabha polls.