Speculation is rife that government formation in Delhi may lead to a split in the eight-member Congress unit in the Legislative Assembly.
Even Congress circles on Wednesday were rife with speculation that at least six out of the eight party legislators, barring former Ministers and State unit president Arvinder Singh and CLP leader Haroon Yusuf, might break away to support a Bharatiya Janata Party government to avoid fresh Assembly polls.
The Congress legislators, while asserting that they were not in favour of fresh elections at this stage, said they are non-committal about the idea of supporting a BJP government. “I am a committed party worker and would remain one,” Sultanpur Majra MLA Jai Kishan told reporters at a press conference.
Cabinet berthsAs per the Constitutional provisions, at least six legislators of the Congress would have to defect in order to get around the anti-defection law. While sections within the party are even speculating about the Cabinet berths that one or two Congress legislators could grab in the new dispensation, others said it is unlikely that “the current group of Congress legislators would ever support a BJP government, especially when four of the eight Congress MLAs are Muslims”.
While State unit leaders categorically played down the possibility of a split in the party, sources said the Central leadership on its part has been making all efforts to keep its flock together. A meeting chaired by general secretary and Delhi in-charge Shakeel Ahmed this past Saturday was attended by the party legislators.
Sources said tempers had flared in the meeting with some MLAs even getting into heated argument over allegations of horse-trading.
