Bharatiya Janata Party's Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha, Vijay Kumar Malhotra, will lead the party in the coming
assembly elections in the national capital.

Malhotra was chosen as the party's chief ministerial candidate at a meeting of the Parliamentary Board which met at
the BJP headquarters in New Delhi [Images].

"He is an acceptable and senior leader. He has the potential to lead the party in the coming elections and emerge
victorious," BJP General Secretary Arun Jaitley told a press conference while announcing Malhotra's name.

The 77-year-old leader, who is the lone BJP MP from the national capital in the current Lok Sabha, represents South
Delhi constituency.

The names of BJP general secretary Vijay Goel and Delhi party president Harsh Vardhan were also doing the rounds for the post.

Congratulating Malhotra, Vardhan said he will save the national capital from the '10-year misrule' of the Congress.

Born in Lahore [Images] in 1931, Malhotra did his post graduation and later PhD before becoming a teacher at PGDAV
College in Delhi where he served for 36 long years.

Malhotra, who was the member of the first municipal council in the capital in 1958 when it was formed, also served
as the Chief Executive Councillor of Delhi (Chief Minister in Protocol) during 1967-72.

He was elected to the Lok Sabha four times in 1977, 1989, 1999 and 2004 and once to Rajya Sabha in 1994.

Malhotra was a member of several Parliamentary committees besides holding party posts like chief whip and
parliamentary party spokesperson.

A sports lover, he also led a number of sports organisations. He is the currently the president of the Archery
Federation.

He took active part in politics during his college days and was arrested and imprisoned several times, once along
with BJP ideologue Shyama Prasad Mukherjee in 1953 under the Preventive Detention Act.

He had a narrow escape in 1966 in police firing during an agitation for cow protection. Malhotra was also detained
during the Emergency for 19 months in jails in Delhi, Ambala, Chandigarh and Hissar.