Delhi appears to be headed for assembly elections with the BJP declining Lt Governor Najeeb Jung’s invitation to form the government, and both the Congress and AAP favouring immediate polls to end the eight-month-long political uncertainty.
Indications are that Jung, who met leaders of the three political parties — Satish Upadhyay and Jagdish Mukhi of BJP, Haroon Yusuf of Congress and AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia — on Monday, may send his recommendation to the President for dissolving the assembly any time. “All the above parties expressed their inability to form the government. The Lt Governor would be sending his report to the Hon’ble President,” a Raj Niwas release said.
The LG held consultations in the wake of the Supreme Court putting the issue on fast track and giving him time till November 11 to explore the possibility of forming a government. The court was hearing AAP’s petition seeking early dissolution of the assembly, which has been under suspended animation since February.
Sources in the BJP said the decision to decline Jung’s invitation to form the government was taken at a meeting of top central leaders of the party on Sunday. The party felt it should go for polls and cash in on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity and the enthusiasm among its cadres following victories in the Maharashtra and Haryana assembly elections.
The sources said Modi was in favour of polls and the RSS had also conveyed its view that the party should not form a government adopting any “unfair means”. Upadhyay said the BJP conveyed its stand to Jung.
Delhi BJP general secretary Ramesh Bidhuri said the party was confident of getting a clear mandate when elections are held. “We are confident of getting 47 seats. The people of Delhi have seen the AAP government and will not support it again,” he said.
Meanwhile, the AAP also welcomed the development saying “collective desire, will and vigilance of people have won over politics of immoral manipulations and unethical arrangements.”
“In last eight months, every effort was made to “buy” our MLAs. They withstood all pressures and lived up to people’s expectations. Salute to them,” Kejriwal tweeted. In another tweet, he said, “Finally…congratulations to the people of Delhi.”
The Congress reiterated its demand for holding the Delhi polls with the elections in Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir.
Currently, the BJP, along with ally Akali Dal’s lone MLA, has 29 legislators and would require the support of five more MLAs to prove majority in the 67-member Assembly.
