Delhi voters must now opt for decisive mandate
With the lieutenant Governor of Delhi recommending the dissolution of the State Assembly, the Union Cabinet endorsing the recommendation and the President approving it, the political deadlock has finally ended after nearly nine months, during which the House remained in suspended animation. lt Governor Najeeb Jung's move will be welcomed not just by political parties but also the people of Delhi who have lived through for months without a Government of their choice.
Mr Jung's decision was without doubt prompted by the Supreme Court taking a dim view of the long delay in Government formation, and setting a deadline for the lt Governor to take a call. After Mr Jung's latest round of meetings with leaders of the three main political parties in the State, it became clear that neither of them had the numbers, from within or outside, to form a Government. The lt Governor had tried earlier too in his bid at Government formation, but the efforts never reached a conclusion because the three parties often gave conflicting signals. For instance, the Aam Aadmi Party today says it always favoured dissolution of the Assembly, but only a few months ago it had written to Mr Jung requesting him to keep the House in suspended animation, presumably because it was exploring ways to form the Government once more.
Similarly, the BJP spoke both in favour of a fresh election and of finding means to cobble together a Government. On its part, the Congress, reduced to being a marginal player in Delhi, never emphatically denied rumours that some of its leaders were in touch with AAP in an effort to get together again in Government formation. All of these created a muddled situation, with every party accusing the other of trying to scuttle a fresh election. It can be argued that the lt Governor (and by extension the Union Government) allowed political uncertainty to bloom in the State and created an atmosphere for horse-trading.
But he was constitutionally-bound to explore all options, howsoever fanciful, at Government formation, before recommending the dissolution of the House. Not many legislators were prepared to go through the electoral grind barely months after the last election was held and which had produced a hung House. Ironically, the AAP, which recently had been the most forceful in wanting a fresh election, had taken outside support of the Congress on the pretext that the people of the State didn’t deserve another poll.
But all that is past now, and the parties will be gearing up to face the people yet again. The BJP will naturally hope to continue its winning streak and sustain the momentum it has gained in Maharashtra and Haryana. The trump card will be Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is expected to plunge headlong in the campaigning. This possibility is giving both the AAP and the Congress nightmares, because neither has a comparable leader. It explains why the AAP is emphasising that the battle is not between Mr Modi and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal. But it has to live with the infamy of having messed up the chance it had got to rule Delhi. As for the Congress, it is simply too demoralised to offer any serious challenge. let's hope that the voters of Delhi this time opt for a decisive mandate.