The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is preparing to disclose the name of Delhi's next Chief Minister by the end of today, nearly two weeks after securing a decisive victory in the Assembly election. Party insiders confirmed that the long-awaited decision is finally expected to be made public.

The process of selecting the new leader gained momentum around midday when the BJP’s top decision-making group, the Parliamentary Board, gathered to deliberate on the matter. Former Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and National Secretary Om Prakash Dhankar were assigned the role of observers for the meeting of the newly-elected legislators later in the day.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired the Parliamentary Board meeting. His recent visits to France and the United States had reportedly caused delays in finalizing the appointment. This evening, the BJP’s MLAs will assemble with Prasad and Dhankar in attendance to elect their leader, who will subsequently assume the role of Chief Minister.

The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for Thursday morning at 11 am. The event will take place at Ramlila Maidan, a prominent venue in the capital. Sources indicated that the ceremony will span from 11 am to 12:34 pm, with the oath-taking expected precisely at 12:05 pm.

Preparations for the event include three separate stages—one for the Prime Minister, Home Minister Amit Shah, Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena, and the incoming Chief Minister; another for spiritual leaders; and a third for lawmakers from the BJP and its allies, with over 200 attendees expected. Outgoing Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and AAP leader Atishi have been invited, along with Congress' Delhi chief Devender Yadav.

Reports suggest that a list of 15 potential candidates was created last week from the pool of 48 BJP legislators. The leading contender for the top position is Parvesh Verma, a two-time former MP who defeated Kejriwal in the New Delhi constituency. Other prominent names in consideration include Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva and first-time MP Bansuri Swaraj, daughter of late Union Minister Sushma Swaraj. Veteran leader Satish Upadhyay is also among the potential choices.

There is growing speculation that the BJP might opt for a woman Chief Minister. Four female BJP MLAs—Neelam Pahalwan, Rekha Gupta, Poonam Sharma, and Shikha Roy—are seen as possible picks. Pahalwan is the first woman elected from Najafgarh, Gupta is a former Delhi University Students’ Union president, Sharma secured the Wazirpur seat, and Roy made headlines by defeating AAP’s Saurabh Bharadwaj in Greater Kailash.

Caste representation is also being factored into the decision-making process. Four newly-elected BJP legislators belong to Scheduled Castes—Raj Kumar Chauhan (Mangolpuri), Ravikant Ujjain (Trilokpuri), Ravinder Indraj Singh (Bawana), and Kailash Gangwal (Madipur). The party has a history of considering caste dynamics while appointing Chief Ministers, with similar deliberations taking place in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan after the 2023 elections.

The suspense over the Chief Minister's appointment began on February 8, when the BJP secured a landslide victory by winning 48 out of 70 Assembly seats, marking a return to power in Delhi after 26 years. The party’s resurgence came after years of dominance by the Congress and AAP. In contrast, AAP secured only 22 seats after facing controversies surrounding its leader Kejriwal, including allegations linked to his official residence renovation and the liquor policy. The Congress failed to make any significant impact for the third consecutive election.

The BJP’s remarkable performance is a stark contrast to its showing in the past two Assembly elections, where it managed only 11 seats combined. This year’s win has positioned the party to reestablish its influence in the national capital’s political landscape.