BJP has till now kept us guessing what course it will take for government formation in Delhi.
After the Aam aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal ended his experimental government on the 49th day of his taking office, Delhi has remained under President’s rule. It has been more than six months and the people are still guessing as to what will be the fate their Delhi.
The AAP, which returned to its nest after taking several high flights, started afresh in the national capital. But chief Kejriwal proved no less than a confused man. While he was preparing his cadre and the junta for fresh elections, he was visiting Lt Governor Najeeb Jung to explore the possibility of government formation in the national capital. The secret was later revealed that out of 27 AAP MLAs, 25 did not wish to go to elections.
Till now, he has been ranting about BJP’s intentions about government formation in Delhi saying that the party must come forward as it was the single largest party. He also accused that the BJP was trying to evade elections and was exploring all the other possibilities of forming government, including indulgence in horse-trading. But now, his sole motto is to stop BJP from forming government in Delhi.
When Jung started exploring the possibilities of government formation in Delhi again and it seemed almost imminent that he will get the President’s nod for inviting the single largest party for the same, Kejriwal started crying foul. He, in fact, said that his party will seek the President’s intervention to ensure that the saffron party does not get an invitation “under any circumstances” from the Lt Governor.
“How will BJP form government? Naturally, BJP wants to form government through horse-trading, by buying MLAs which is totally wrong. They want to buy MLAs using money power, at Rs 20 crore each,” he alleged.
Well, Kejriwal has forgotten that there is an Anti Defection law in place in the country. Now three of the important seats – of Dr Harsh Vardhan, Ramesh Bidhuri and Parvesh Verma , now MPs – are vacant. So, it is almost impossible for the BJP to indulge in horse-trading and get the requisite number for government formation for it will have to face elections – for individual candidates or general – sooner or later.
Also, BJP has till now kept us guessing what course it will take for government formation in Delhi. Will it respond in favour when Jung invites the party to stake claim to the seat? Because it declined the offer in December last year when it won 32 seats in the assembly elections. And there is also a leadership crunch in the BJP after Harsh Vardhan took over the post of health minister.
So what course will BJP take? What are the other possibilities of forming government in the national capital?
For one, the Supreme Court (which has asked an update o the status of government formation) may make elections a reality for AAP, BJP and almost-non-existent Congress when assembly elections for four states (Haryana, Maharastra, Jharkhand and J&K) are held. The Election Commission is yet to announce the poll schedule for the same.
Another option is to keep checking the mood of the voters. Many BJP MLAs, irrespective of these election sentiments, are doing ground and positive work in the capital. They may let President rule prevail till they find it convenient to step in electoral waters.
A section of BJP is willing to form the government by any means. Which will mean the same old tactics of selecting a chief minister from the available MLAs in the assembly or from those who could get elected from the three vacated seats. But it would again bring ack to the ground zero: who will be the leader and will he/she be able to fight AAP and Congress effectively?
Some cite constitutional expert Subash Kashyap’s position that a secret ballot may be held in the assembly as per Section 9 (2) of the NCT Act and Article 175 of the Constitution. Reportedly, a similar situation had aroused in UP in 1998 when Kalyan Singh was re-elected to be chief minister of the state. But then that was done in an extreme situation and following a High Court order.
Whatever the course, the BJP will have to take some bold decisions and move ahead with confidence. Or should we say Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah will have to act now?
