BJP, AAP prefer fresh polls Deadlock continues over Govt formation in Delhi
Source: The Sangai Express / Agencies
New Delhi, December 11 2013:
Three days after the announcement of Assembly Elections results, there seems to be no possibility of formation of a new government in Delhi, as both Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have failed to get the numbers and opted for re-election in the national capital.
Arvind Kejriwal's AAP, which registered an emphatic win by winning 28 seats in the 70-member Delhi Assembly, has said it is ready for re-poll and this time, it will be a contest between the Arvind Kejriwal-led party and the BJP.
"We are ready for it (re-election).
At present, we will neither take, nor extend, support to either BJP or Congress to form the government.
But unlike this election, next election would be contested between BJP and AAP, as Congress has lost badly," Kejriwal said.
Meanwhile, the BJP on Tuesday asked its newly-elected MLAs to be ready for fresh elections, maintaining that it did not have the mandate to form a government and would prefer to sit in the opposition.
The BJP, along with its ally Akali Dal's one seat, has the support of 32 MLAs in the 70-member House.
AAP won 28 seats followed by Congress with eight.
JD-U has won one seat while the Mundka seat has gone to an Independent.
However, the Congress indicated it might give unconditional support to the AAP to form a government in Delhi even as the AAP pledged to neither give nor take legislative backing from anyone and the BJP said it was ready for fresh elections.
As uncertainty over government formation continued after elections threw up a hung Assembly, the Congress � which won only eight seats � appeared wary of another election which could devastate it further in the city.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission today notified results of the Assembly polls in Delhi, paving the way for start of the formal process of government formation by the Lt Governor.
Jung is now expected to call BJP to form the government.
If BJP declines the offer, then Jung may ask AAP if it was willing to explore the possibility of government formation.
In case AAP also refuses to take the offer, then the Lt Governor may be left with little option but to recommend central rule.
Meanwhile, a snap poll has said most people in Delhi want the one-year-old AAP, which took birth following the anti-corruption campaign of Gandhian Anna Hazare, to form a government.