Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri clarified that the BJP has not named any chief ministerial candidate for the assembly elections next year, putting to rest all speculations that Delhi unit chief Manoj Tiwari has been chosen as the CM candidate.
Incidentally, Puri's remark at a meeting with party workers had led to the speculations. Addressing them in Delhi, Puri, who is also the co-incharge of Delhi BJP, had said: "We are going to fight the assembly election under the leadership of Manoj Tiwari and we will ensure that he (Tiwari) becomes the chief minister."
However, Puri did a U-turn soon after, and took to Twitter to say that he meant that the BJP would win with a huge mandate under Tiwari's leadership and the party has not announced any chief ministerial candidate.
दिल्ली में भाजपा विजय की ओर अग्रसर है। पार्टी ने अब तक मुख्यमंत्री पद के लिए किसी को नामित नहीं किया है। श्री मनोज तिवारी @Delhi4BJP के अध्यक्ष हैं। पार्टी उनके नेतृत्व में पूरे जोश से काम कर रही है। मेरे बयान का मतलब था कि भाजपा उनके नेतृत्व में भारी मतों से आगामी चुनाव जीतेगी।
— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) November 24, 2019
“The BJP is headed for victory in Delhi. The party has so far not nominated anyone for the post of Chief Minister,” Puri wrote in Hindi. “Mr. Manoj Tiwari is the president of @Delhi4BJP. The party is working energetically under his leadership. My statement meant that the BJP would win the upcoming elections under his leadership with a huge vote margin.”
The Delhi assembly elections are due early next year. The Aam Aadmi Party had swept to power in the last elections in 2015, winning 67 seats in the 70-member House.
