IT IS LIKE WEDDING WITHOUT GROOM: AAP ON DELAY IN CHOOSING CM

More than a week after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept to power in the Capital, the party is set to finalize the name of Delhi's next chief minister, with the BJP's legislative meeting slated to be held on Wednesday evening, people aware of the matter said.

- HT Correspondent

NEW DELHI:

The new chief minister will take oath during a ceremony at Ramlila Maidan on February 20, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the CMs of 19 NDA-ruled states in attendance. The people quoted above said that the function was earlier scheduled for 4.30pm, but now has been brought forward to 11.30am.

The BJP comprehensively won the Delhi polls, winning 48 seats in the 70-member House, and reducing the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to only 22 seats. However, the BJP contested the elections without a CM face, and 10 days after the results were announced, it is yet to announce who will be elevated to the post. The party has also not announced the names of the six legislators who will be part of the Delhi cabinet.

During the legislature party meeting on Wednesday, senior BJP functionaries said, the 48 newly elected BJP MLAs and the seven Lok Sabha MPs will finalize the name of the new CM, who will then meet the lieutenant governor to stake claim to form the government.