If party sources are to be believed, the senior most Delhi BJP MLA Jagdish Mukhi, may not get ticket this time as he is over 70 years of age. However, his supporters are trying to pitch him as potential chief minister of Delhi if BJP is voted to power.
The ‘young brigade’ of the party is reportedly trying to corner Mukhi ahead of upcoming polls. Despite being the senior most party MLA, Mukhi was not offered a seat on the occasion of induction of MS Dhir into BJP on Friday.
The sources informed that Ashish Sood, Delhi BJP general secretary and chairman of education committee in South MCD, is being considered as an appropriate replacement for Mukhi. ‘Mukhi could be sent to Rajya Sabha or simply retired from electoral politics. He may be assigned respected post in organisation or may be rehabilitated in any other way,’ added the leader.
In the last Delhi assembly elections, BJP had refused tickets to two of its oldest MLAs — VK Malhotra (79) and Harsharan Singh Balli (65). Malhotra, a BJP veteran, had secured a ticket for his son but Balli had quit the party to join Congress.
‘The average age of BJP MLAs of the dissolved assembly is around 55. But some of them are very old. They look tired and exhausted. We need fresh blood in the party to compete a younger party like AAP,’ said a senior BJP leader. The other sitting MLAs who could face the music are Naresh Gaur from Babarpur, and Dharamdev Solanki from Palam besides a few others.
The ‘young brigade’ of the party is reportedly trying to corner Mukhi ahead of upcoming polls. Despite being the senior most party MLA, Mukhi was not offered a seat on the occasion of induction of MS Dhir into BJP on Friday.
The sources informed that Ashish Sood, Delhi BJP general secretary and chairman of education committee in South MCD, is being considered as an appropriate replacement for Mukhi. ‘Mukhi could be sent to Rajya Sabha or simply retired from electoral politics. He may be assigned respected post in organisation or may be rehabilitated in any other way,’ added the leader.
In the last Delhi assembly elections, BJP had refused tickets to two of its oldest MLAs — VK Malhotra (79) and Harsharan Singh Balli (65). Malhotra, a BJP veteran, had secured a ticket for his son but Balli had quit the party to join Congress.
‘The average age of BJP MLAs of the dissolved assembly is around 55. But some of them are very old. They look tired and exhausted. We need fresh blood in the party to compete a younger party like AAP,’ said a senior BJP leader. The other sitting MLAs who could face the music are Naresh Gaur from Babarpur, and Dharamdev Solanki from Palam besides a few others.