Virendra Sachdeva appointed new Delhi BJP chief as Adesh Gupta resigns

Adesh Gupta has been in charge of the Delhi unit since June 2020. Though his term will end next year, the recent defeat has prompted murmurs of a course correction.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday appointed Virendra Sachdeva as the working president of Delhi BJP. Sachdeva is currently the vice president of Delhi BJP.

BJP Delhi president Virendra Sachdeva (L) congratulates Bupendra Patel (R) for his second term as Gujarat CM (Twitter/@@Virend_Sachdeva)

The appointment comes after the current Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta resigned from the post on the order of BJP national president JP Nadda amid failing to secure a win in the recently concluded Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections.

“As per the directions of BJP president JP Nadda, Adesh Gupta’s resignation has been accepted. Till further notice, Virendra Sachdeva has been appointed as the working president of Delhi BJP,” party’s national general secretary Arun Singh said.

After the BJP’s defeat in MCD, members have been demanding change in leadership. According to them, there is a need for strong and more effective leadership in the Delhi unit for the party to win assembly elections.

Adesh Gupta has been in charge of the Delhi unit since June 2020. Though his term will end next year, the recent defeat has prompted murmurs of a course correction.

“We have lost all the three elections (two bypolls and municipal elections) that were held after he (Gupta) took charge as Delhi BJP chief,” a BJP leader said.

“If we want to win the assembly elections in 2025, we need to start now and for this, we need a strong leadership in the state,” said another BJP functionary.

Though the BJP’s vote share increased at this time, it couldn’t translate into the party’s victory as the party lost some of its strongholds in middle-class areas and some wards by a wafer-thin margin.

While the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) secured 134 seats, the BJP got 104 in the 250-ward seat despite a three-percentage point increase in its vote share from the last municipal elections.

“Despite the increase in vote share, we lost wards such as East Patel Nagar, Madipur, Rohini A, Munirka, Ramesh Nagar, Rohtas Nagar, Adarsh Nagar, Moti Nagar etc by less than 1000 votes. This shows that there was some problem with our candidate selection, as people voted for BJP and our campaign in these areas,” said a senior BJP functionary.

The BJP, which has ruled the civic body for 15 years, lost at least 24 seats by less than 1000 votes, including 10 wards where the difference was less than 500 votes.