The BJP’s decisive win in Delhi’s municipal elections has strengthened the position of Manoj Tiwari, who was named president of the party’s Delhi unit four months earlier. Party insiders now see him as the BJP’s likely face for the next Delhi assembly election, expected in 2020.

From doubts to delivery

When Tiwari took charge, the party faced a civic contest in which it had to overcome anti-incumbency. Critics and rivals played down his appointment, arguing that it was aimed only at attracting Purvanchali voters.

The municipal result changed that picture. Tiwari has raised his standing within the party and become its most visible leader in the capital. That matters because the BJP did not have a chief ministerial candidate in the 2015 assembly election, a gap that experts linked to its heavy defeat.

What party insiders say

One party insider said the victory would help Tiwari earn the trust of workers and could make him the face of the party’s next assembly campaign in Delhi.

Another party source said Tiwari might also be given a bigger role and be deployed in states with large Purvanchali populations. According to this source, the central leadership had asked him to consolidate Purvanchali votes for the party, and he had done so. The source said an early assessment of the results suggested that about 42% of Purvanchali voters backed the BJP.

What happened next

In the 2020 Delhi assembly election, the Aam Aadmi Party won 62 seats and the BJP 8, and Arvind Kejriwal remained Chief Minister.

See also: election news

Originally published on 28 April 2017. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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