BJP leader Harsh Vardhan at home with his mather after he was declared Delhi's BJP Chief Minister candidate
Fondly called "Doctor Saab," senior Delhi BJP leader and former health minister Harsh Vardhan has got what was denied to him five years ago -- a chance to be the party's chief minister candidate.
An ENT specialist, Dr Vardhan entered politics in 1993. On Wednesday, he was declared as the face of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Delhi, dashing the hopes of outspoken state unit chief Vijay Goel. He takes on the challenge of being pitched against Congress Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit who has been in office for the last three terms.
Three-time MLA from Delhi's Krishna Nagar constituency, Dr Vardhan, 59, was elected to the Delhi assembly in 1993 and has held various portfolios, including education, law and health in the BJP government.
The BJP was in power in Delhi from 1993 to 1998.
Dr Vardhan, who enjoys wide support in the party, has a clean image. He is widely credited with pioneering the pulse polio programme in India which also helped him earn a name for himself.
Delhi polls are on December 4 and results will be out on December 8.
Dr Vardhan also enjoys the support of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), the parent organisation of the saffron party. RSS support ensured that he was nominated as the BJP Chief Minister candidate for Delhi.
But it has not, so far, been a smooth journey.
In 2008, though Dr Vardhan was the party's state unit chief, it was senior leader VK Malhotra who was declared the candidate for Delhi.
According to sources, what seemed to have tipped the scale in favour of Dr Vardhan as CM candidate this time is Vijay Goel's aggressive projection of himself for the top post and an evident unilateral style of functioning.
Dr Vardhan was born on December 13, 1954. He attended the Anglo-Sanskrit Victoria Jubilee Senior Secondary School in Delhi and the GSVM Medical College in Kanpur from where he obtained his MBBS and MS degrees, with specialisation in ENT.
He is married to Nutan, a specialist in hospital administration and has two sons and a daughter.
Dr Vardhan has maintained a low profile in politics, especially after the BJP's debacle in the 2008 elections.
The BJP has, at present, 24 seats in the 70-member Delhi assembly. The Congress has 43.
Sources close to him said Dr Vardhan, who has a clinic in Krishna Nagar, was more active in medicine than in politics this time.
This time too, it will not be smooth sailing for Dr Vardhan. Not only is the party pitted against the Congress, it has the Aam Admi Party (AAP) too to contend with.