JOIN USThe decisive defeat of the BJP in the Delhi elections is expected to embolden the opposition to take on the Modi-led government in the upcoming Budget Session of Parliament.
Opposition parties which had little stakes in Delhi had put their weight behind AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal, who was seen as a credible candidate to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The BJP had made the Delhi elections a prestige issue and drafted its top leaders in the campaign. Modi himself had addressed five rallies in Delhi where Kejriwal was his prime target.
“The BJP defeat would definitely embolden the opposition in Parliament,” a senior Congress leader said. He added that the Opposition could raise its voice with more vigour in the Lok Sabha where the BJP-led NDA has a majority.
However, it is the Rajya Sabha where the Modi government would face difficulty in getting nod for controversial bills as the numbers favour the Opposition. The Trinamool Congress, the CPM, JD(U) and the RJD had declared their support to Kejriwal in the Delhi elections.
The results have also appeared to have made difficult the Modi government’s immediate task to convert six ordinances into laws when the Budget Session of Parliament commences on February 23.
The Modi government had opted for the ordinance route to usher in economic reforms such as increase in FDI in the insurance sector, amendments to the stringent land acquisition laws, coal block allocations and allowing e-rickshaws in the national capital after the opposition parties stalled the legislative business in the Rajya Sabha during the Winter Session.
The ordinances would lapse if the government fails to replace them with Acts before the Budget Session of Parliament breaks for recess on March 20. At present, the Upper House is in the control of opposition members who together number 132 in a House of 243. The Congress is the single largest party with 69 members.