The Bharatiya Janata Party is looking for a face to challenge Arvind Kejriwal and Atishi in Delhi. They need a face that can pass the test of caste equations and also has some charisma. Before this, the BJP has tried two female faces and failed. First, Sushma Swaraj was tried in 1998 and the BJP lost that time and has not won till date. The BJP tried Kiran Bedi for the second time in 2015. Presenting her as a CM candidate and contesting the elections was called a masterstroke but the BJP got only three seats out of 70. That was the worst performance of the BJP till date.
After winning for the first and last time in 1993, the BJP came close to victory only in 2013, when it fought under the leadership of Dr. Harsh Vardhan and won 32 seats. It is not known why the BJP sidelined Dr. Harsh Vardhan. Anyway, now it is considering the names of two women, one migrant, one Vaishya and two Jat leaders. It is being said that efforts are being made to make Smriti Irani the face of the party in Delhi. She had once contested from Chandni Chowk seat and lost to Kapil Sibal. She is a Punjabi and hails from Delhi. The second face is Bansuri Swaraj. She is an MP from New Delhi, daughter of Sushma Swaraj, has studied from Oxford and is a lawyer. The migrant name is Manoj Tiwari. The Vaishya face is Praveen Khandelwal. Apart from these, the names of Kamaljit Sehrawat and Pravesh Sahib Singh Verma are also there. Informed sources say that this time the BJP is seriously considering to fight by presenting a single face.