Will Parvesh Varma’s Luck Shine As Next Delhi CM After Defeating Arvind Kejriwal?

By Sushil Kutty

Parvesh Sahib Singh Varma is the newly elected BJP MLA of New Delhi assembly constituency. He defeated AAP convener and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who was also the sitting AAP MLA from the same assembly constituency. Varma’s electoral fight with Kejriwal was a tug of war with Varma matching Kejriwal trick for trick.

In some ways Varma even outdid Kejriwal. Like in distributing freebies from the footpath. Like getting down on the knees to fit sandals on dainty feet, a feat which escaped Kejriwal’s fertile mind. Parvesh Varma is a Jat and the BJP could do with a Jat Chief Minister for Delhi, which is surrounded by “Jat country.”

And Jat stronghold Haryana doesn’t have a Jat CM! Therefore, the strategic importance of having a Jat as the Delhi Chief Minister. Varma’s two daughters pumped up the energy and the clamour to make Parvesh Varma Chief Minister kept gathering momentum. Varma’s victory over Kejriwal made him a ‘Giant Killer’.

There’s a problem, though. Somebody is blocking Parvesh Varma’s path to the Chief Minister’s post. Somebody too powerful to be dismissed without a pause: Prime Minister Narendra Modi enjoys springing surprises. He also doesn’t care what says who! No BJP leader will make the emphatic statement “Varma will be Delhi Chief Minister, period.”

Prime Minister Modi is both albatross and Damocles Sword for every BJP leader worth his salt. Modi will name the Delhi Chief Minister, khalaas! Till then, Parvesh Varma can sit tight, fingers crossed, and wait for Modi to return from the United States. Modi is not a sadist, he’s just a stickler to tradition!

Tradition established by Modi! The Prime Minister calls the shots, makes the decisions for the party. Gotcha? Modi runs the BJP like a tight ship. Modi reportedly has everybody’s interest at heart but will follow only his heart. Especially, when it comes to selecting Chief Ministers. Wasn’t Modi parachuted into an unsuspecting Gujarat?

Modi hasn’t forgotten this. He did not forget when it was Madhya Pradesh’s turn, when it was Rajasthan’s turn and when it was Odisha’s turn. In Uttar Pradesh in 2017, when Yogi Adityanath was parachuted into Lucknow and made Chief Minister, straight out of the blue.

The trend will not stop till Varanasi doesn’t put a stop to the practice. Varanasi nearly did it in 2024 and Samajwadi Party Supremo Akhilesh Yadav thanked the ‘PDA’. Faizabad MP and “Ayodhya Naresh” Awadhesh Prasad proclaimed victory over Lord Rama.

Importantly, however, Modi’s few defining moments since scraping through in Varanasi has been in naming CMs. Devendra Fadnavis, the Maharashtra CM, wasn’t a surprise, though. Fadnavis was already chosen. But Eknath Shinde benefited from the penchant to spring chief ministers on unsuspecting MLAs. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde ruled the roost in Maharashtra under Modi’s benign gaze.

So, who becomes Delhi Chief Minister is solely up to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Till then Parvesh Varma will sweat. A number of other newly-elected MLAs will also sweat and Modi will watch them sweat. Being top-gun has its pleasures, and its perks. Modi is the BJP’s one and only Numero Uno!

Still, there are fluttering hearts. People wanting to become Delhi Chief Minister. There’s Ramesh Bidhuri, who Atishi defeated. There’s the party’s “purvanchali face”, Member of Parliament Manoj Tiwari. There are also a couple of Delhi-unit office-bearers, who helmed the BJP election campaign.

The party is now in a limbo and Modi will have to land to break the limbo even as a number of ‘woman names’ are being spooked about including that of four newly-elected BJP woman MLAs — Rekha Gupta, Poonam Sharma, Shikha Roy and Neelam Pahalwan. There’s also Smriti Irani, who reportedly “silently campaigned” for the BJP.

Bansuri Swaraj, whose mother Sushma Swaraj was also Delhi Chief Minister, also figures. Check the photos of the BJP’s election campaign and Bansuri Swaraj is in every photo: On the stage with Prime Minister Modi, on the stage with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and on the stage with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath! Has Prime Minister Modi’s mind been made up? (IPA Service)