Jatin Anand
Allegations related to the February riots in north-east Delhi against him notwithstanding, Kapil Mishra has emerged as a front runner for one of the three general secretary posts in the reorganised State unit of the BJP.
Party sources said Mr. Mishra, who was unsuccessfully fielded from the Model Town segment in the Delhi Assembly elections earlier this year, checks all the right boxes in this regard given his popularity, Poorvanchali background and caste.
“He is young, popular, and is just the kind of face the party needs in the city in the run-up to the civic elections [which are around the corner]. These factors have also made him one of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh’s top choices for the post,” said a senior leader.
“There may be allegations against him but that is all they are; his speech [prior to the Delhi riots] was only regarding a blocked road. His appointment will fulfil the Brahmin-Poorvanchali criteria,” said another leader.
According to party sources, around a hundred individuals have staked their claim to the three general secretary posts in the Delhi BJP. Among the other leaders being considered for the posts are Rajiv Babbar, Harsh Malhotra, Virender Sachdeva, Rajendra Tiwari, Ashok Goel Devraha, Ashish Sood, Aditya Jha, Rekha Gupta and Kamaljeet Sehrawat, said sources.
BJYM choices
Leaders such as Impreet Bakshi, Ram Khiladi Yadav, Shivam Chhabra and Vasu Rukhad are among the choices for the leadership of the party’s State youth wing, the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha.
The reorganisation of the unit is currently under way and the names of its new office-bearers are scheduled to be announced later this month.
This story first appeared in ‘The Hindu’ here.