JOIN USThe BJP, the single largest party in the Delhi Assembly, on Monday said that it is mentally ready for fresh elections, while the party still nurses hope of forming the next government here after 15 years.
A meeting of the 31 MLAs will be held on Tuesday at the Delhi unit office to formally elect the chief ministerial candidate Harsh Vardhan as leader of the legislature party.
Harsh Vardhan has maintained that he does not have the numbers to form the government. “As we don’t have the majority, we are not thinking about forming the government,” he told a news channel.
In the 70-member Assembly, the BJP and its ally the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) have 32 seats, the Aam Admi Party (AAP) has 28, Congress 8 and others 2. The BJP-SAD alliance fell short of the magic figure by four seats.
The second largest party, the AAP, also held a meeting of its MLAs. Kejriwal was elected leader of the legislature party.
The logjam over government formation has emerged due to the AAP’s aversion to give or take support from any party in giving the capital its new state government.
AAP spokesperson and MLA Manish Sisodia said if a fresh-election was the last resort, “we are all for it”.
Meanwhile, ousted Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit also favoured a re-election. “If you have no choice, what else will you do,” she told reporters, pointing to the AAP’s decision not to join hands with the Congress.
BJP spokesperson Harish Khurana explained why the party was ready for a re-poll: “We will learn from our mistakes and return with better numbers.” Another BJP leader, however, indicated that the formation of a BJP government was not a closed chapter. “Wait for five to seven days,” he said.
The leader who attended a meeting at Delhi election in-charge Nitin Gadkari’s residence said one view within the party is that a re-election will be a waste of public money.
When asked how the party would manage to get the support of four or more MLAs, he said, “We are examining all ethical options of forming a government headed by Harsh Vardhan.”
The election office is likely to issue the results in the official notification on Tuesday. Thereafter, Lt Governor Najeeb Jung may invite the leader of the single largest party to form the government.
AAP leader Yogendra Yadav said if the party was invited by the Lt governor, “We will tell him that our numbers do not add up to 36”.