BJP, AAP still reluctant to form Government, All eyes on LG
New Delhi: All eyes are now set on Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung as he will have to take a call on the government formation in Delhi where Assembly election results threw no clear winner.
As the election has thrown up a hung verdict, the Lieutenant Governor is now expected to formally explore all options to put in place a government and is likely to call the BJP, which along with its ally Shiromani Akali Dal’s one seat, has the support of 32 MLAs in the 70-member Delhi Assembly.
As both BJP and AAP have announced that they would prefer sitting in the opposition, chances of President’s Rule have become brighter. If President’s Rule is imposed, then the Lt Governor will run the government with the help of a group of advisors.
Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde earlier on Monday said the Lieutenant Governor will explore all options of forming a new government before taking a call.
BJP’s chief ministerial candidate in the assembly polls, Harsh Vardhan, was on Tuesday formally elected as the leader of the legislature party at the first meeting of 31 party MLAs and one SAD legislator at the Delhi BJP office.
“It is a sad situation for us and residents of Delhi, but due to present technicalities the government cannot be formed with a fractured mandate. We don’t have enough numbers to form a stable government and we are ready to fight the election once again if such a situation arises,” Vardhan told reporters after the meeting.
“We have emerged as the single largest party in assembly polls, but lack a few seats (for majority). We are neither eager nor even trying to form the government by any immoral means. Whether we form the government or not, we will continue serving people. I today promise that residents of Delhi will not regret electing us as their representatives,” added Vardhan.
“As we have not got majority, we have decided not to form government by any horse trading and any illegal means. In every election, hundreds of crores of rupees are spent. We would have been happy had any party formed the government,” said Goel.
Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal has said that his party will neither take nor extend support to either BJP or Congress to form the government. He said AAP is ready for fresh elections in the city, and added that it will be a contest between his party and the BJP this time.
“We are ready for it (re-election). At present, we will neither take, nor extend, support to either BJP or Congress to form the government. But unlike this election, next election would be contested between BJP and AAP, as Congress has lost badly,” he said.
Kejriwal said the party will also change some of its candidates, who are considered weak, in case of re-poll.
Congress signals unconditional support to AAP
The Congress has said that a number of senior leaders of Delhi are of the opinion that the party should extend unconditional support to Aam Aadmi Party to form a government in the national capital.
“A number of senior leaders of Delhi are of the opinion that we should give unconditional support to AAP to form a government. They believe that we should extend outside support to it,” said Shakeel Ahmed, AICC general secretary in-charge for Delhi.
