Delhi to Get Its First Woman Chief Minister? Top BJP Front-Runners in Race

Top BJP Front-Runners in Race: Following the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) thumping win in the national capital, the suspense over the new Chief Minister continues as the saffron party mulls over several names for the top post.

According to reports, the next CM will be picked from the newly elected women legislators. BJP insiders told India Today that the BJP is also considering appointing a deputy Chief minister from a socially representative background. The new cabinet is expected to have strong representation of women and Dalits.

The BJP won 48 seats in the Delhi assembly election, while AAP managed to win 22 seats.

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Several BJP leaders are in contention for the chief ministerial post, including Parvesh Verma, the giant killer who defeated Arvind Kejriwal from New Delhi and Manoj Tiwari, the former Delhi BJP president.

Some are speculating that BJP may opt for a woman chief minister, which puts leaders like Shikha Roy (who defeated Saurabh Bharadwaj from Greater Kailash) and Rekha Gupta (who beat Bandana Kumari from Shalimar Bagh) in the spotlight.

A BJP leader told PTI that the party could consider an MLA with 'Purvanchal' background, a Sikh, or a woman, depending on the political calculations guiding its top brass.

"Past experience, including in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan in 2023, and Odisha last year, leave little room for speculation on such matters," he was quoted as saying.

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Names of several BJP leaders have emerged as the race for the top post continues. Many also speculate if the new chief minister will be a fresh face, surprising political observers.

In the past, the BJP has chosen new and lesser-known figures — with relatively low public profile — for the chief minister's post.

Amid such speculations, names of six women BJP leaders have emerged for the Delhi CM post. They are:

1. Shikha Roy: She defeated AAP veteran leader Saurabh Bhardwaj in the Greater Kailash assembly constituency in the Delhi Elections 2025.

2. Rekha Gupta: She won the Shalimar Bagh assembly seat in Delhi in the 2025 assembly polls. She defeated AAP's Bandana Kumari by a margin of 29,595 votes.

3. Smriti Irani: She is a former Union minister in the Modi cabinet. She lost the Lok Sabha Election 2024 from the Amethi seat in Uttar Pradesh.

4. Bansuri Swaraj: The daughter of former Union minister Sushma Swaraj, Bansuri won the Lok Sabha 2024 polls from the New Delhi Lok Sabha seat.

5. Poonam Sharma: She won the Wazirpur assembly seat in Delhi. She defeated AAP's Rajesh Gupta by 11,425 votes.

6. Neelam Pahelwan: She won the Delhi Election 2025 from the Najafgarh assembly constituency. She defeated AAP's Tarun Kumar by 29,009 votes.

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