An extremely humbled Dr. Harsh Vardhan on Wednesday thanked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for nominating him as the party's chief ministerial candidate for the Delhi assembly polls, and vowed to get independence for Delhi from the Congress.
"I am humbled, that through complete consensus, the BJP leaders have given me this responsibility. I thank our senior party leaders and central parliamentary committee members for nominating me," Dr. Harsh Vardhan told media here.
"First, we will get independence for Delhi from the Congress, and then, we will rid the country of Congress rule," he added.
Dr. Harsh Vardhan's name as BJP chief ministerial candidate was announced at a press conference by party president Rajnath Singh after a BJP Parliamentary Board meeting here today.
The 58-year-old E.N.T specialist, who is a four-time MLA, will now lock horns with Sheila Dikshit of the Congress and Arvind Kejriwal of the AAP.
The BJP chose Dr. Harsh Vardhan, who played a large role in the national pulse polio campaign as the Health Minister, ahead of Delhi BJP President Vijay Goel.
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The BJP believes Dr. Harsh Vardhan has a clean and non-controversial image, among citizens, which could attract votes for the party.
When the BJP Government was in power in Delhi between 1993 and 1998, he served in various capacities in the state cabinet, including as health, law and education minister.