Kujleet Chahal made NDMC vice-chairman, cornered Kejriwal with pointed questions at meetings

New Delhi: Kuljeet Chahal, a key BJP functionary is among the most prominent faces of the four non-official members nominated to the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC). Having served as a member in previous NDMC committee, this time, Kuljeet Chahal has been appointed as Vice-Chairman.

The other three members are Dinesh Pratap Singh, former president of Delhi BJP’s Purvanchal Morcha, Sarita Tomar and Anil Valmiki.

Kuljeet Chahal’s stature within the party stands elevated with this move and this ‘promotion’ comes on back of his repeated cornering and questioning of the erstwhile Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on a host of public issues.

At a couple of NDMC meetings, Chahal’s sharp questions left the then AAP CM struggling for answers. On some occasions, Kejriwal was left red-faced and had to face the meetings mid-way, as the BJP functionary would fire volley of questions.

Apart from cornering AAP convenor at NDMC meetings, Kuljeet Chahal also got many public tasks accomplished. Many credit him as a strong and credible voice behind the upliftment of municipal corporation-run schools. Some reports claim that he got about 4,500 temporary workers ‘confirmed’, after getting due approvals from the Union Home Ministry.

AAP supremo’s ‘embarrassing’ moments at the NDMC meets followed by huge social media chatter is understood to be the main reason behind Kuljeet’s elevation as the Vice-Chairman.

Kuljeet, also the convenor of NaMo App, moved three resolutions under Section-8 of the NDMC meet, pressing for the presence of Arvind Kejriwal in the meeting, failing which he would cease to be a member of the Council. He got these resolutions passed in council meetings, in June and July, 2022 and February 2024.

As per the Section-8 of NDMC Act, the then Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was bound to attend every third Council Meetings to save his membership.

He cornered the then Delhi CM on multiple public issues and demanded accountability, during the NDMC meets. The five prominent issues which he raised were – the liquor policy scam and alleged involvement of Delhi ministers, AAP govt’s failure to provide drinking water, failure in flood control, failure to control pollution in Delhi, the multi-crore Sheeshmahal built with public money.

These issues also resonated strongly with the netizens. As the visuals from the meeting showed Kejriwal walking out in the middle, the public anger also showed up on social media.

Notably, Kuljeet Chahal started his political career with the ABVP – the student wing of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), during his stint with college politics in Delhi University. He became Delhi BJP district president from Mayur Vihar and also went to serve in multiple positions within the city unit, including general secretary and state secretary.