BJP to have its fourth CM in Delhi. Who were the other three?

The BJP ruled Delhi betwixt 1993 and 1998, and the tenures of its 3 erstwhile CMs saw governmental scandals and infighting that wounded and weakened the party.

Here is simply a look astatine the 3 erstwhile Delhi CMs of the BJP and their tenures.

Madan Lal Khurana, Dec 1993-Feb 1996

Atal Bihari Vajpayee (left) and Madan Lal Khurana the Mango festival organised by Delhi Tourism successful New Delhi successful 1995. (Express Archive/Arun Jetlie)

Khurana was the archetypal CM to service Delhi aft the authorities Legislative Assembly was reinstated done the 69th Constitution Amendment Act, 1991.

The Assembly elections were held successful November 1993, successful which the BJP won 49 seats and the Congress got 14. One crushed for the Congress’s mediocre show was the party’s relation successful the anti-Sikh unit of 1984.

Khurana was a fashionable leader, known arsenic “Delhi ka Sher” (Lion of Delhi) for his efforts to fortify the enactment successful Delhi. However, helium could not implicit his word successful power.

In 1995, Khurana’s sanction appeared successful the infamous Hawala ungraded that implicated leaders crossed enactment lines. Mounting governmental unit forced him to resign little than a twelvemonth later.

Sahib Singh Verma, Feb 1996-Oct 1998

Sahib Singh Verma was an Indian person and the erstwhile elder vice-president of the Bharatiya Janata Party. (Express Archive/Ravi Batra)

Khurana’s resignation paved the mode for Sahib Singh Verma to go the 2nd BJP CM (and 4th overall) of Delhi connected February 27, 1996.

However, Verma faced absorption from Khurana, starring to a powerfulness conflict betwixt the 2 leaders and infighting wrong the party.

Verma grappled with economical issues similar the skyrocketing prices of onion, which had reportedly touched Rs 60 per kg astir Diwali successful 1998 – highly precocious for the time. He besides failed to negociate the powerfulness and h2o crises successful Delhi.

As each these reasons sparked nationalist discontent against the BJP, Verma had to measurement down a fewer months up of the 1998 Assembly polls. His tenure lasted for 2 years and 228 days.

Interestingly, it is Verma’s son, Parvesh Sahib Singh, who has won the biggest contention of the 2025 Assembly predetermination – having defeated Arvind Kejriwal astatine the New Delhi seat.

Sushma Swaraj, Oct-Dec 1998

Verma was succeeded by Sushma Swaraj, who became Delhi’s archetypal pistillate CM. The BJP had hoped that a caller look would assistance it combat anti-incumbency successful the Union Territory. During her 52-day tenure, Swaraj had to firefight connected respective fronts.

Soon aft she took charge, the CM acceptable up a committee to reconstruct the proviso of onions to assistance bring down the prices. Swaraj besides reportedly arranged vans for distributing onions crossed Delhi.

However, these efforts could not prevention the BJP’s sinking ship. The Congress came to power, winning 52 seats. The enactment would regularisation Delhi for the adjacent 15 years.