Is 'giant killer' Parvesh Sahib Singh set for bigger role after defeating Kejriwal?

Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Parvesh Sahib Singh has joined the ranks of ‘giant killers’ by defeating Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal on the New Delhi seat in the Delhi assembly elections.

Having achieved such a feat in his portfolio, Singh appears set to have a bigger role in the BJP and possibly in the Delhi government.

Kejriwal is among AAP’s senior leaders who have either lost or are trailing. Beside him, former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has also lost on the Jangpura seat. Saurabh Bharadwaj and Somnath Bharti are also trailing on their seats.

Shortly after it emerged that Singh had defeated Kejriwal, it was reported that he would be meeting Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah later in the day. Notably, the BJP had not entered the elections with any chief ministerial face and now the party’s CM would need approval of Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

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Parvesh Singh wins elite constituency

By defeating Kejriwal in the New Delhi constituency, Singh has won a seat that was once held by former Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit and Kejriwal.

While Dikshit served three consecutive terms as the chief minister and was the tallest leader of Congress in Delhi of her time, Kejriwal also served three terms in 10 years from the seat. It remains to be seen whether Parvesh can also rise to such a stature in the coming years.

As Ramesh Bidhuri, who was seen as one of the chief ministerial hopefuls of the party, has lost to AAP’s Atishi on Kalkaji seat, Singh has an easier road to the top post if the party leadership decides to consider him.

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The comeback of a 2nd generation politician

Singh is the son of Sahib Singh Verma, a former Chief Minister of Delhi.

Verma was the CM of Delhi during 1996-98. He was succeeded by Sushma Swaraj, who led a short-lived BJP government in Delhi. In 1998, Congress’ Shiela Dikshit came to power and went on to win two more terms until she was defeated in Kejriwal’s wave in 2013.

The story of Singh is one of trusting the process and making a comeback after many tried to write him off.

Despite being a two-time MP, Singh was denied the ticket for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Unlike many, he did not sulk or rebel. Instead, he accepted the party leadership’s decision and played the long game by trusting the leadership and focussing on the 2025 Delhi assembly elections. As a reward, he was granted a ticket to contest against Kejriwal — the archrival the BJP had not overcome for a decade.

By defeating Kejriwal, Singh repaid the trust party had bestowed on him.

Now, as the biggest giant killer of Delhi in a decade, Singh must be looking forward for the ultimate reward: the chief ministership.

Even though Singh has said that he will leave the decision to the party leadership, he has indicated he has eyes on the top post. In a statement that says he considers himself for the post, he said after winning that the first decision of the BJP’s Delhi government would be to form a special investigation team (SIT) to investigate alleged corruption during Kejriwal’s term.