The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will hold the swearing-in ceremony for the new Chief Minister of Delhi on Thursday, February 20, after a legislative party meeting in the national capital. This comes ten days after the party secured a decisive victory in the Delhi Assembly elections. However, the BJP has yet to announce the name of the new Chief Minister, which is expected to be revealed following the legislature party meeting tomorrow.

Ceremony details and expected attendees

The oath-taking ceremony is likely to take place at the Ramlila Maidan, and over 1 lakh people are expected to attend. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and other top leaders from the BJP are expected to be present. The BJP may also invite former Chief Ministers Arvind Kejriwal and Atishi to the ceremony. Additionally, saints, seers, and prominent people, along with vistatak (visitors) and pradhans from all jhuggi (slum) clusters, are among the invitees.

Top contenders for the Delhi CM post

After a historic win, where the BJP won 48 out of the 70 assembly seats, several names are being considered for the Delhi Chief Minister position. Parvesh Verma, who defeated Arvind Kejriwal in the New Delhi constituency, is one of the top contenders. BJP MP Manoj Tiwari and Kapil Mishra are also in the running. Other possible contenders include Rekha Gupta, Vijender Gupta, Satish Upadhyay, Ashish Sood, Pawan Sharma, and Ajay Mahawar.

When will the ceremony take place?

The ceremony is expected to begin between 11 am and 12 pm on Thursday. Following the swearing-in, a meeting of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Chief Ministers will be held over lunch. The Delhi BJP legislative party meeting will take place around 3:30 pm.

A massive pandal (tent) is being prepared for the event, with three separate stages being set up. One stage will be 40 x 24 meters, and two others will be 34 x 40 meters. Around 150 chairs will be placed on each stage, with the Prime Minister, the newly appointed CM, and other ministers on one big stage. Senior BJP leaders and other chief ministers will be seated on the other stages. All senior BJP leaders and ministers are expected to be present at the ceremony.