Image at stake, so BJP waits for feelers to form govt in Delhi

NEW DELHI: Careful of its image before the general elections, BJP maintained on Monday that it is not hungry for power, and is not negotiating with any political party or independent candidate to form a government in Delhi. Sources, however, say the party has yet not given up hope of forming a government and is willing to wait for elected members of other political parties as well as independents to approach it on their own for the sake of giving the capital a "stable government".

In the current scenario, the party has two options: hope for defection or go ahead with a minority government. The first option seems unlikely. In case of Congress, which has bagged eight seats, the anti-defection law would need two-third of its members (five candidates) to join BJP—four of these are Muslim candidates and may not find it a good idea to shift to the saffron party. In case of AAP, the party would need a merger of 18-19 candidates.

While party sources claim that about a dozen AAP candidates have been directly or indirectly attached to BJP, 19 is too big a number for the party to hope to attract. The other option is to agree to a minority government. This would break the hung assembly and fulfil the party’s aspirations but sustaining a minority government can be daunting as the opposition can easily bring it down with a no-confidence vote.

For now the party is not looking at either option. "We are not interested in the politics of opportunism. We are neither approaching anyone nor waiting for anyone to approach us. We will decide the next step after a formal meeting on Tuesday," said Nitin Gadkari, BJP poll in charge. Gadkari and Delhi president Vijay Goel are expected to hold a meeting with the 32 winning candidates on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, former IPS officer Kiran Bedi, part of the anti-corruption movement, has suggested that AAP and BJP try to find a common ground. "Delhiites have voted them to expel the Congress government. Both the parties should now work on finding a common ground that can give Delhi a stable government," she said. Bedi, who is thought to be close to BJP, denied that she offered to be a mediator. "Why should I do that? It is for the senior leaders of both the parties to sit together and find a solution."

JD(U) candidate Shoaib Iqbal pushing for a merger between AAP and Congress to keep out "communal forces". "I’m holding talks with both the parties and I’m hopeful that leaders will agree upon an arrangement where AAP forms the government with Congress’ outside support."