'BJP can win 60 Assembly seats if polls are held now'

If all factors remain the same as in the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP candidates can win 60 out of the 70 Assembly constituencies if immediate fresh elections were to be held for picking 70 members of the House, said a Delhi BJP leader on Saturday.

However, there were some other party MLAs who did not favour immediate polls to the Assembly – if Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung decides to call for a fresh mandate.

A BJP vice-president said the party’s 7-0 sweep in the Delhi Lok Sabha polls was much “above the expectations” and it has created a tough situation on the Assembly election front as BJP’s three legislators – out of 31 – have been elected to Parliament. 

 The BJP won all the seven Lok Sabha seats in the recent Lok Sabha poll but, according to the Election Commission data, the AAP candidates got more votes than the BJP candidates in 10 out of the 70 Assembly segments which constitute the parliamentary constituencies.

 The AAP also increased its vote share by 3.5 per cent to 32.9 per cent as compared to 29.49 per cent in the December elections. The BJP’s vote share also increased in the Lok Sabha polls to 46 per cent from 33.07 per cent in the December Assembly elections. 

“The increase in the AAP’s vote share is a worry as we were expecting it to dip after Arvind Kejriwal’s hasty exit from the government,” said a BJP leader.

Buoyed by the BJP’s emphatic win in 60 of the 70 Assembly seats, some legislators have already started raising the pitch for fresh Assembly polls.

“With our party’s government at the Centre, we can always approach the home ministry to recommend fresh polls,” said a legislator, admitting that the final decision on the matter would rest with President Pranab Mukherjee.

In an indication of the divided opinion within Delhi BJP on whether the party should seek immediate fresh Assembly elections, a senior functionary said, “Elections are inevitable but we are not sure if we would be able to beat the AAP in 60 Assembly seats, as we did in Lok Sabha polls. The AAP is going to return with full force to woo voters.”

“Rather than immediate fresh Assembly polls, a fresh mandate in October-November  would give the BJP’s central government to carry out some work in Delhi and expand BJP’s support,” he said.

“Government formation in Delhi with 31 MLAs, along with one MLA from Akali Dal, is not feasible. Till the time fresh elections are held, any attempt to form a government would have to be made by other parties,” he said.