BJP's Legislative Party meeting postponed; CM announcement likely on Wednesday
What's the story
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will likely announce the new chief minister of Delhi on February 19, according to multiple reports.
The party's legislative party meeting was initially scheduled for Monday.
The meeting will be held at the Delhi BJP State Office, where newly-elected BJP MLAs will elect their leader for the House in Delhi Assembly.
Oath-taking
Swearing-in ceremony for new Delhi CM scheduled for February 20
"The swearing-in ceremony of the Chief Minister will also be held on 20th February instead of 18th February," sources told ANI.
The ceremony will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Ministers, National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leaders, and other eminent personalities from different fields.
This comes after the BJP's thumping victory in the Delhi Assembly elections on February 5, where it won 48 out of 70 seats and ended the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) decade-long rule.
CM contenders
Several names in contention for Delhi's Chief Minister position
Several names are doing the rounds for the CM post. Parvesh Verma is a strong contender after he defeated AAP's national convenor Arvind Kejriwal in New Delhi.
Others in the fray include Satish Upadhyay, Ashish Sood, Jitendra Mahajan, and Vijender Gupta. If a woman leader is chosen, former Delhi Mayor Rekha Gupta could be a possibility.
The final call will be taken by senior BJP leaders including Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP President JP Nadda.
Historic comeback
BJP's return to power in Delhi after 27 years
According to media reports, the new chief minister could be chosen from the newly-elected party MLAs.
"All 48 MLAs are equal in the eyes of the party and any of them can be the CM," BJP leader Vijender Gupta had said.
The last time the BJP held power in Delhi was in 1998. Since then, it has faced electoral defeats until this historic comeback.