There is assumption that BJP is forming government in Delhi. Politics heated up with Arvind Kejriwal speculating in a series of aggressive tweets that Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor would invite the BJP to form government. Kejriwal accused BJP of doing horse trading for the formation of government. None of the parties have majority and president must dissolve the assembly to avoid horse trading. BJP is not much keen for fresh elections as Modi waves have slowed down and the central government led by Modi is not upto people’s expectations. Since BJP led NDA came to power, the lives of common man has become difficult and inflation correction has not been done yet. There are chances that voters may avoid BJP in Delhi because of all these reasons. Even, after Harshvardhan elevated to centre, no other strong leaders are there to lead Delhi from BJP’s side.
Horse trading does exist, we cannot deny it. Many of the parties had done horse trading in the past and one won’t be surprised if BJP also indulges in such act. No matter how secretly deal is done, someday facts will emerge. People will believe on what is exposed, no matter how vociferously it is denied. It will have adverse impact on the image of Narendra Modi or maybe we can say, history will repeat itself again. For the 2008 Karnataka Assembly elections, BJP got 110 seats out of 224. INC had 80, JDS got 28 seats and 6 independents also got elected. BJP fell 3 seats short of getting an absolute majority. Yeddyurappa was able to become chief minister with the support of 6 independent members of the assembly. As a compromise, 5 of the 6 independents were taken in the cabinet and were given powerful positions. Presently, Karnataka is the only state that is showing allegiance to the Congress party. For the assembly election held on 5 May, 2013, INC got majority with 122 seats and 40 each for JDS and BJP. Even if BJP tries to form the next government in Delhi, there should not be any compromise with the independents that are backing the government. The support from non-BJP parties should be unconditional.
Rubbishing AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal’s allegation against BJP of indulging in horse-trading for government formation in Delhi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said his party doesn’t indulge in such practices. BJP hardly enjoyed the power so horse trading by them is rare. This is the second time after independence that BJP is in power. However, they were corrupt then and in this government also there are many leaders who are corrupt. During Lok Sabha elections, lots of people got aligned with BJP to get the 272 figure. That time, the trading was done on full swing, because it was a question of party survival. Later, BJP had emerged as the single largest party with clear majority. After last year’s Delhi Assembly polls, BJP won 32 seats, including one of Akali Dal, in the 70-member Assembly. Currently, BJP, along with ally Akali Dal’s lone MLA, has 29 legislators and will require the support of five more MLAs to prove majority in the Assembly. Three of its MLAs had been elected to the Lok Sabha. The party fell short of four seats to bag a simple majority and had refused to form government in December, saying it did not have the numbers and will not resort to any “unfair means” to take the reins.
The President’s Rule was imposed on February 17, since then Mr. Jung’s administration has done an overhaul of drainage and hospitals. Several key infrastructure and connectivity projects like the Barapullah Phase-II have also been cleared under his watch. During this period, the city faced a power crisis during which Jung and Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal joined forces to get natural gas allotted for power production and get power infrastructure back on track.
There are speculations that if BJP decides to form the government in Delhi, senior leader and former finance minister Jagdish Mukhi could be a strong contender for the chief minister’s post. BJP is confident of getting the required support of MLAs from other parties. Reports are suggesting that government formation in Delhi could hinge on a group of Congress MLAs breaking away to support a BJP government to avoid fresh assembly polls. The possibility of a split in the eight-member Congress unit in the Assembly has been doing rounds. The moves for government formation have gathered momentum after the appointment of Satish Upadhyay as Delhi BJP chief. The Union Cabinet is likely to take a decision on whether to extend President’s rule by another six months or go for fresh polls. The BJP had come first in 60 of the 70 assembly segments in the Lok Sabha polls. Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has accused the BJP of trying to “buy” its MLAs and engaging in horse-trading.
Whosoever comes to power — Aam Aadmi Party or BJP — both require Congress Party’s support. Without Congress support, they cannot form the government in Delhi.
