Sources in the BJP have said that the party is ready to form the government in Delhi and is waiting for a formal invitation from Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung.
Sources said that the BJP’s parliamentary board will meet on Tuesday to formally decide about forming the government in Delhi. The board will also decide the name of the Chief Minister, sources added.
Home Minister and former BJP chief Rajnath Singh had said yesterday that the party will think about forming government in Delhi if it is formally invited by Mr Jung, adding the party “doesn’t believe in horse-trading”.
The remarks came before an Aam Aadmi Party delegation, led by Arvind Kejriwal, met with President Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday in the wake of reports that Mr Jung had recommended that the option of inviting the single largest party, the BJP, to form government in Delhi must be explored. The AAP today urged the President against accepting the “unconstitutional advice” from the Lieutenant Governor, and sought “fresh elections” in Delhi.
In a note to the President, Mr Jung has reportedly suggested that the BJP should be allowed to prove its majority on the floor of the assembly before a fresh election is considered.
Dubbing the suggestion a “murder of democracy”, Mr Kejriwal said, “On what basis will he justify what he is suggesting? Isn’t this an invitation to form a government through dishonest means?”
The BJP and its ally, with 29 legislators, are five short of a majority and the top leadership is said to be divided on whether the party should try to make up the numbers if it is invited to form government or then decline as it did after the state elections last December.
The AAP has said that inviting the BJP to form government would be unconstitutional and would encourage defections. Its petition for fresh polls in Delhi will be heard in the Supreme Court on September 9.
The Congress has also said it will firmly oppose the BJP’s bid for power.
