The leader of the single largest party in Delhi Assembly, the BJP, Dr Harsh Vardhan has conveyed to the Lieutenant Governor (LG) Najeeb Jung that he would prefer to sit in the opposition as ‘despite the people’s mandate to rule’ he did not have adequate numbers to run the government. This was conveyed by Vardhan in writing when he met the LG at Raj Niwas on Thursday evening. Moments after, the LG called the leader of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Arvind Kejriwal to discuss the possibilities of government formation. ‘I am going to meet the LG on Saturday morning to discuss government formation,’ said Kejriwal in a statement late on Thursday night.
Exerts say if Kejriwal accepts the proposal to form the government and the LG is convinced, he can ask him to prove majority in the house within a few days. If Kejriwal proves his majority in the house, he can continue as chief minister for at least the next six months as a no-confidence motion can be brought before the next sitting of assembly which can be summoned within the next sixth months of its previous sitting. If he fails, he could be asked by the LG to act as acting chief minister till re-poll. If Kejriwal rejects that offer, the LG may put the assembly in suspended animation or dissolve it and recommend president’s rule. In such a situation, the LG will act as administrator of Delhi and rule the city with the help of his advisers and bureaucracy.
Jung had invited Vardhan to discuss the possibility of forming the government following the fractured mandate which has emerged from the just concluded polls. BJP and allies have 32 members in the 70-member house, falling short of the majority by four seats. On the other hand, the Congress with eight members has decided to support the 28-member Aam Aadmi Party, which has so far said it would not form the government with any outside support from any party.
‘In pursuance of the high ideas and noble moral values of politics, I and my party would like to sit in opposition as we don’t have majority in the house,’ said Vardhan in his letter to the LG. ‘The intelligent people of Delhi have given us the mandate to rule in the national capital city. Hence we have emerged as the single largest party,’ he added. Talking to Millennium Post later, Vardhan said: ‘Any step towards government formation will cause horse trading and dirty politics.’