NEW DELHI: BJP's Delhi chief Adesh Gupta resigned from the post on Sunday, days after his party lost out to the Aam Aadmi Party in the high-stakes Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections.
He resigned after taking the moral responsibility of the defeat and sources said that his resignation has been accepted. The new acting president will be Virendra Sachdeva.
Speaking exclusively to IANS, Gupta said, "I have resigned yesterday, our party president J.P. Nadda ji accepted my resignation. I took the moral responsibility for the loss in the MCD elections. We were expecting more seats in MCD, but couldn't get them, which led me to take this step."
"My dedication to work for the party continues. I will keep working for the welfare of the people, " he added.
According to a source in the party, "Due to the defeat in MCD, Delhi BJP President Adesh Gupta has resigned from his post. Gupta resigned and took responsibility for the defeat in the MCD elections. Adesh Gupta has submitted his resignation to BJP National President J.P. Nadda. Nadda has accepted his resignation".
BJP National President J.P. Nadda appointed Virendra Sachdeva as the acting president of Delhi BJP after Gupta's resignation.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday defeated the BJP in the civic polls. The Arvind Kejriwal-led party scored 134 of the 250 wards, while the BJP won 104, breaking the 15-year rule of the BJP.
He said his government will bring change. "We will work for the development of Himachal Pradesh, " Sukhu, who started his political career at the age of 18, told the media in his first statement after being named the new Chief Minister.
In his initial years of his career, Sukhu was running a milk counter in Shimla. He was the general secretary of the state unit of the Congress-affiliated National Students' Union of India (NSUI) and later became the president of the student body.
He did his MA and LLB from Himachal Pradesh University here and was twice elected as the councillor of the Shimla Municipal Corporation.
Responding to Sukhu's appointment, former Union minister Anand Sharma said it was a matter of pride that the son of an ordinary family will be "our CM. Thanks to our leadership, Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi for leading a spirited campaign".
Accepting the party leadership's decision, state unit chief Pratibha Singh, who was the frontrunner for the top job, said: "We accept the decision of the high command."
Pratibha Singh is the wife of six-time chief minister Late Virbhadra Singh, while Sukhu is a four-time MLA from Nandaun, who is a known rival of her husband.
Born on March 27, 1964, Sukhu has never ever been a minister or Chief Parliamentary Secretary and a Chairman of a board or corporation in his political career.
Journalist-turned-politician Mukesh Agnihotri, 60, is the Deputy Chief Minister designate. He retained his stronghold Haroli in Una district, the seat he earlier represented thrice -- 2007, 2012 and 2017.
The Congress on December 8 got an absolute majority in the Assembly elections, winning 40 seats -- six over than the half-way mark of 34 in the 68-member House, while the outgoing BJP was reduced to 25.