New Delhi: Three days ahead of the next Supreme Court hearing on government formation in the capital, Delhi BJP on Tuesday reviewed the political situation and indicated its readiness to face fresh elections instead of capturing power without having a clear majority.
At a meeting, presided over by Delhi BJP chief Satish Upadhyay, a number of senior leaders argued in favour of going to elections than forming a government by "managing the numbers" which they felt may hurt the image of the party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Sources in BJP said that the meeting felt that "Modi wave" was still going "strong" and the party will emerge victorious if it goes to seek fresh mandate in Delhi.
"The meeting felt that the party will be able to serve people of Delhi with full dedication if the party comes to power with a clear majority. That is why the leaders have preferred going to polls," said a senior party leader, adding that any final decision on the issue will be taken by the central leadership.
The Supreme Court on September 9 had asked the Centre to apprise it on October 10 the outcome of the process undertaken by Lt Governor Najeeb Jung on government formation in Delhi, saying "alleged horse-trading" will continue if a decision is not taken.
On September 4, Jung had sent a letter to President Pranab Mukherjee seeking permission to call BJP, the single largest party, to take a shot at power though it is well short of majority in the Assembly. Asked what the party would do if the Lt Governor invites BJP to form government, the senior leader said the party might turn down the offer.
"We do not have the numbers to form the government. The chances of the LG inviting us to form government is very less." Following the Lt Governor's initiative, almost all BJP MLAs as well as Upadhyay had shown indication of the party's willingness to take a shot at power.
The dominant view in BJP then was that it will not be immoral on its part to take over the reins as the party had swept the Lok Sabha polls by winning all the seven seats with comfortable margins. BJP, along with its ally Akali Dal's one MLA, has 29 MLAs in the Assembly and will require support of five more legislators to prove majority in the House.
BJP had won 31 seats in the 70-member Assembly but the number of BJP MLAs came down to 28 as three party legislators Harsh Vardhan, Ramesh Bidhuri and Pervesh Verma had resigned from the Assembly after they were elected to Lok Sabha. Following resignation of the three legislators, the strength of the Assembly had come down to 67.
Fixing the next hearing to October 10, the Supreme Court had said that the matter cannot be kept pending and it may take a view after the Centre informs it about the decision of the President and subsequent political developments. The court is hearing a plea filed by AAP seeking dissolution of the Assembly.
In his letter to the President, the LG referred to the resignation of the AAP government on February 14 saying that it was not in "the interest of public to hold elections in such a short time after the elections of December 2013."
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