The possibility of a re-election to the Delhi legislative Assembly seems bleak now as political parties in the national Capital are increasingly expressing their reservations over another poll.
Speculations are rife regarding the formation of a BJP-led Government in Delhi with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MlAs reportedly deliberating with the BJP. Well-placed sources said five to six MlAs of the AAP have expressed their desire to break away from the party to support the BJP in the Assembly elections. Similarly, a few Congress MlAs too seem to have talked it out with the BJP on the same issue.
Sources in the BJP claimed that six Congress MlAs also met senior BJP leader and Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, an MlA from Badarpur, with a promise to support him if he is projected as the Chief Minister candidate for Delhi. “They expressed their willingness to support Bidhuri. In case, any other leader is chosen for the coveted post, they (Congress leaders) might come with the party,” said a source. During the Delhi Assembly elections in December, the BJP won the maximum seats (32), AAP won 28 seats and the Congress was wiped out with only eight seats. However, after the elevation of Harsh Vardhan (Krishna Nagar), Bidhuri (Tughlakabad) and Parvesh Verma (Mehrauli) as MPs, three seats are vacant.
Meanwhile, Delhi BJP in-charge Prabhat Jha too claimed that the party was not poaching the MlAs in the Congress and the AAP, but maintained that it would discuss the matter with the top leadership if they approached the BJP.
After nearly four months President’s Rule in Delhi, leaders of all three major parties in the city - BJP, AAP and Congress - are gauging their chances of winning the polls, in case they occur. While the Congress is totally washed out in the current political scenario with its double back-to-back defeat, several MlAs from the fledgling AAP are also not too keen on going for fresh polls. Sources in the BJP said that the party is also uncertain over re-elections. “All 28 MlAs of the BJP have conveyed to the top leadership that they do not want fresh elections. Instead, the party should explore the possibility of Government formation,” sources said.
Sources within the AAP also said that a section of its MlAs may support the BJP and help form the Government in Delhi. “A few MlAs from AAP are planning to move against the party in support of the BJP to form the Government. In such an eventuality, their membership in the Assembly will be suspended and by-elections will happen only in those seats from where the MlAs have won and they may be accommodated by the BJP by giving tickets to contest re-elections,” said a source. However, the number of leaders planning to make the shift is largely uncertain.
Senior party leader Manish Sisodia, however, denied any such report and said, “Our party is united and there is no factionalism. We are not siding with any party and are looking ahead for fresh polls.” Earlier, a few AAP’s MlAs were reported to have urged the party leadership to form the Government with the support of the Congress. However, the Congress party leadership had decided against lending support to AAP for the second time.