'Congress may win 11 if bypoll is held for 21 seats'

Hoping to win at least 11 Assembly seats out of 21 in a possible bypoll, the Delhi Congress leaders have started dreaming big about a debut in the 70-member House hoping that the EC would show the door to 21 MLAs for holding an office of profit while working as parliamentary secretaries.

“We would easily win half of the 21 seats if byelections are held immediately,” said Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken, basing his claim of an internal survey of the party which was uprooted from power after a 15-year tenure by the new AAP.

A upbeat Maken told Deccan Herald that encouraging findings of an internal survey by his party has charged up the Congress cadre.

“We know the AAP’s graph is on a downswing ever since the MCD bypolls in which won 5 out of the 13 seats last month,” said Maken.

“We will fight the possible by-poll with the aim of winning the post of Leader of Opposition in the Assembly. The BJP has failed to play this role in the House,” Maken said.

The former Union minister and ex-Delhi Assembly speaker said: “In the imminent bypoll, the main rival of the Congress would be the BJP and not the AAP as the ruling party’s popularity graph is falling drastically.”  

Sources in party said Assembly bypolls in November would suit it the most. “The outcome would be out just before the Punjab elections early next year.”

Most party stalwarts and former legislators have already been sounded about their possible nomination in the by-polls, said a leader.

“Our possible candidates have even started their ground work to ensure that the party wins maximum seats in the imminent by-poll,” said a leader.

 The Congress ruled the city for 15 years under Sheila Dikshit but ended up with a zero in the 70-member Assembly in the last polls held in February 2015.

To highlight the parliamentary secretary issue, Maken and his partymen now plan to launch demonstrations in all the 21 Assembly constituencies on June 26 at the conclusion of a door-to-door campaign, seeking the resignations of the 21 MLAs working as parliamentary secretaries.

 The 21 MLAs’ future hangs in balance with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal claiming that his government did not violate the office of profit provisions by appointing them as parliamentary secretaries and the rival parties claiming otherwise.

Issues related to demands for disqualification of the 21 legislators are simultaneously being heard by President Pranab Mukherjee, the Election Commission, the Delhi Lokayukta and the Delhi High Court.