The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday appointed Union minister Harsh Malhotra as the new president of its Delhi unit, replacing Virendra Sachdeva amid growing speculation over a leadership change in the party’s state organisation.Delhi BJP MP Harsh Malhotra speaks in the Lok Sabha during this year’s Budget Session. (Sansad TV File)The appointment was announced through an organisational order issued by BJP national general secretary Arun Singh.Malhotra, 62, is currently serving as minister of state for road transport and highways and corporate affairs in the Narendra Modi government. A first-time Lok Sabha MP from East Delhi, he has been associated with the BJP organisation in the capital for more than three decades and has held several organisational and civic posts.The son of veteran BJP leader Vijay Kumar Malhotra, Harsh Malhotra began his political career in municipal politics and was elected councillor from Welcome Colony in 2012. He later served as mayor of the erstwhile East Delhi Municipal Corporation in 2015-16.He has also held the post of general secretary in the Delhi BJP and remained actively involved in organisational affairs across east Delhi. A science graduate from Hansraj College, University of Delhi, Malhotra was elected to the Lok Sabha from East Delhi in the 2024 general elections before being inducted into the Union council of ministers.Sachdeva had taken over as Delhi BJP working president in December 2022 after the resignation of Adesh Gupta following the party’s defeat in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi elections. He was formally appointed Delhi BJP president in March 2023 and led the party during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the 2025 Delhi Assembly polls.A Delhi-based businessman and long-time BJP functionary, Sachdeva has also been associated with several sports bodies, including the Archery Association of India and the Delhi Olympic Association.During his tenure, he led the BJP’s political campaign against the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi and oversaw the party’s organisational expansion in the capital.