The BJP's projection of India's first woman police officer Kiran Bedi as its face in Delhi has divided the party, with one section overjoyed and the other left sulking.Some also feel that while the decision was right, it may have come a little too late for the Bharatiya Janata Party to score its first victory in assembly elections after 1993. The move took even some leaders in the BJP in Delhi by surprise but has boosted the morale of workers who were stunned by the aggressive campaign of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), party sources said. "She has worked on international assignments with the UN as well as on the streets to help children through her NGO," he added. Another party functionary, however, said that some leaders were sulking as their ambitions had been stifled. Arivind Kejriwal's AAP finished a surprise close second in the December 2013 election winning 28 seats against the BJP's 31. The Congress finished a distant third with just eight seats in the house of 70. Before Bedi was brought in, opinion polls were predicting another hung house in Delhi although with the BJP doing marginally better than in 2013.Many in the BJP hope that Bedi, 65, will prove a tough match for Kejriwal, who at age 46 too has strong anti-corruption credentials.Bedi has been an anti-corruption activist, a former tennis player and her innings in Delhi Police is still widely remembered in the city. Bedi initiated prison reforms in the Tihar Central Jail.She has won the Ramon Magsaysay award, an honour she shares with Kejriwal.
