In the days leading up to December 12 last year when Delhi Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung was expected to invite the single largest party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, to form the government, the chief ministerial candidate Harsh Vardhan had said “it is a hypothetical situation” on whether the party will actually go through with it.
On Friday, hours after Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal stepped down as the Chief Minister of Delhi, Dr. Vardhan once again did not want to speculate on a “hypothetical situation” on whether the L-G will once again ask his party if it was interested in forming the government in Delhi.
The December 8 verdict of the Delhi elections gave the BJP and its ally the Shiromani Akali Dal 32 seats in the newly-elected 70-member Assembly. The AAP bagged 28 seats and the C0ongress got 8. With no party having a clear majority to form the government, Mr. Jung invited the BJP to form one after which the AAP was approached.
While Delhi BJP chief Vijay Goel has already convened a meeting on Saturday of the working group to discuss the “current political situation”, Dr. Vardhan stated: “We are mentally prepared to fight elections as early as next week. The mood among party workers has always been upbeat and with a huge Modi wave that will see us forming the government in the Centre, we are sure to sweep Delhi as well.”
Meanwhile, the Congress, which bagged eight seats in the December polls and provided outside support to the AAP to form the government, also stated that it was “not afraid of elections”. Delhi Congress chief Arvinder Singh Lovely said: “Now it is for the Lieutenant- Governor to decide. Congress would abide by it either ways.”
