A day after her induction in the BJP, former super cop Kiran Bedi has injected a dose of high drama into the upcoming Delhi polls by gearing up to take on Anna Hazare acolyte and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal. On a day former AAP leader Shazia Ilmi too joined the BJP, Bedi said she was ready to take on Kejriwal in the Delhi Assembly elections if she was directed by the party leadership to do so.
Debunking AAP’s criticism of her for changing her stand on not joining politics, Bedi said she was free to make her own choice and her “aversion” to politics was gone due to Modi’s leadership. “I am in mission mode now,” she reiterated. “Selecting a seat for me to contest is the party’s prerogative and I will go by their decision. If they want me to fight against Kejriwal, so be it, because they know better than I do,” she said.
She made her intentions clear by affirming that she was brought by the BJP to win. “They haven’t brought me to lose, they have brought me to win,” she said when asked about the possibility of her contesting from the New Delhi seat against Kejriwal.
Bedi’s induction into the party by BJP president Amit Shah on Thursday is being viewed as a master stroke by Shah. Having been associated with social reformer Anna Hazare’s India Against Corruption (IAC) campaign, both Bedi and Ilmi may help BJP in denting the advance of AAP in the Delhi Assembly elections scheduled for February 7.
Though Bedi made it clear that she was here to contest and win, Shazia Ilmi said she was not keen on contesting the upcoming elections.“After being defeated in the last Delhi Assembly elections and subsequently in the general elections, I don’t want to fight this election. However, I will follow the party’s instructions, but I want my party to respect my wish,” she said.
The AAP had reacted with shock after Bedi joined the BJP. Her long-time colleague at IAC, Arvind Kejriwal had also taken a subtle dig at Bedi saying that he had also tried to convince her to take a plunge into politics.
“It is sad and shocking that Bedi, who had been maintaining that she will always remain apolitical and keep raising issues concerning the masses, has joined the BJP. Our best wishes are with her,” party leader Sanjay Singh said.
However, when reminded about her long association with Kejriwal Bedi hit back that she did not wish to go into the past. “I am in the present and am looking towards the future. I have a right to make my own choices and nobody can question that. I want to lead my life as per my own wish,” Bedi said.
Earlier in the day, the BJP pulled off another hit by admitting AAP rebel Ilmi in the party fold. Ilmi met Amit Shah and its general secretary (organisation) Ram lal and Delhi BJP president Satish Upadhyay, among others.
Hailing a new “political discourse” in the country, she said that it was time to go beyond the politics of identity. “There is indeed a new political discourse in the country. Earlier politics was all about identity. It is time to create a new civil identity. The new blueprint of the BJP stands for change and development. I was inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that’s why I am joining the BJP,” she said.
Meanwhile, on the issue of conversions carried out recently by some groups, Ilmi said she does not support “forced” conversions and that the BJP has nothing to do with the matter. Meanwhile, the BJP’s Central Election Committee will scrutinize and release the list of candidates for Delhi polls by Monday when its Parliamentary Board will also meet to discuss the campaign strategy in the National Capital.
The list of candidates prepared by the Delhi unit of the BJP has been submitted to the BJP’s CEC which will take a call on it on January 18 and January 19 when it may release the list of nominees. According to sources, the party’s Parliamentary Board would discuss whether there was a need to project a chief ministerial candidate for the Delhi polls.
The Parliamentary Board would review the poll preparations and discuss coordination among central leaders made in-charge of Assembly segments, BJP leaders from other states, MPs and the local BJP unit. Asked about projecting a chief ministerial candidate for Delhi, a senior State leader said:
“The party does not have the policy of projecting the chief ministerial candidate as has been seen in Haryana and Maharashtra. There are several chief ministerial candidates in the State BJP unit”. The induction of former IPS officer Kiran Bedi into the BJP led to speculation that she might get the top job in the eventuality of the party emerging as the winner in the Delhi Assembly polls.
Asked whether Bedi would be the chief ministerial candidate in Delhi, Amit Shah said: “It would be decided by the party’s Parliamentary Board”. When pressed further, Shah side-stepped the issue saying, “all workers of the BJP are suited to be CM.”