Has purportedly put out feelers to Delhi Congress of its support
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has been indulging in doublespeak ahead of fresh elections in the national Capital. Party convener Arvind Kejriwal along with other leaders has been rather vocal in demanding the dissolution of Assembly to pave way for fresh elections. Calling their posturing as a bluff to hoodwink the voters, Delhi Congress on Monday claimed that AAP has again sent out feelers for support in forming the Government. Delhi Congress chief spokesperson Mukesh Sharma claimed that two senior AAP leaders had contacted him and some of his party leaders asking for support in Government formation. The desperation of AAP, however, could be judged with their reported offer to prop up Delhi Pradesh Congress president Arvinder Singh lovely as the next Chief Minister.
The Delhi Congress is believed to have deliberated over the issue and the feeling in the party is to go for fresh polls rather than get discredited by taking AAP support. There is a general view that the party should neither extend nor offer any support to AAP.
The people of this city have been suffering for the past one year just because there is no elected Government, Sharma said in response to a pointed question. “How can we trust a party (AAP), which has been solely responsible for political unrestIJ All we want is fresh elections,” he added.
The AAP, on the other hand, dismissed Mukesh’s claims as “baseless”, saying, “No one from our party has contacted any Congress leader.” A senior AAP leader, requesting anonymity said, “The Congress is down and out. That’s precisely why the party has been cooking up stories to stay in the headlines.”
Meanwhile, AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal dared BJP to immediately dissolve the Delhi Assembly, which has been under suspended animation since February. Another AAP leader said that if the Congress was so “keen” to form the Government, it should join hands with the BJP. “Both the BJP and the Congress joined hands to defeat the Jan lokpal Bill in the Delhi Assembly. They should again join hands to form the Government.”
Earlier, the Congress had claimed that five of its MlAs were approached by the AAP. Even the AAP had alleged that the BJP was trying to poach on its legislators. The two parties had separately held media parade of the MlAs who were being allegedly approached by the two parties. What is now worrying the AAP and the Congress is the BJP’s electrifying victory in the recent lok Sabha elections, followed by another spectacular victory in Haryana and Maharashtra Assembly elections.
Insiders said that a majority of the AAP and the Congress MlAs were not in favour of fresh elections. The AAP had won 28 seats in December Assembly polls. Now the newbie party has 27 legislators, as it expelled its laxmi Nagar MlA Vinod Kumar Binny for anti-party activities. The Congress too had been reduced to strength of just eight legislators.