Kiran Bedi is BJP’s CM face

New Delhi, January 19

The BJP today brushed aside murmurs of dissent within the party and named new entrant Kiran Bedi, a former IPS officer, as its chief ministerial candidate for the February 7 Delhi Assembly elections.

Party president Amit Shah, while announcing this after the BJP parliamentary board’s meeting, said the decision to field Bedi (65) was “unanimous”.

He said the BJP would contest the elections to the 70-member Assembly under Bedi's leadership. She would contest from the Krishna Nagar seat in East Delhi, considered a BJP bastion.

Bedi, who was earlier associated with Anna Hazare’s India Against Corruption campaign, had joined the party on January 15.

The parliamentary board meeting was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj among others. Bedi thanked the party for reposing faith in her.

“I had already expressed my readiness to contest from any seat. The entire Delhi is close to my heart. We will develop a good Delhi,” she said. Asked about voices of dissent over Bedi spearheading the party's poll campaign in the national capital, Shah said there was no resentment and everyone was working as one team to ensure BJP's victory. BJP's Delhi leaders, including Jagdish Mukhi, had earlier

expressed reservation over Bedi being inducted without them being consulted while another leader Manoj Tewari, too, had made known his discontent but both leaders later toed the party line.

Shah said the BJP will contest the Delhi elections with its ally Shiromani Akali Dal.

Earlier, Bedi described BJP as an "amazing and organised" party while dismissing as "exaggerated" reports of brewing resentment within it over her being projected as the party's CM candidate.

Bedi, claimed BJP workers were happy and united over her induction in the party and likened the comments against her to as differing voices in a family. "It's all exaggerated. I am an insider now. They (party workers) are very happy. They are very united. You can have a voice even in a family here and there. Party workers are happy, enthused and united," she said. — PTI