AAP-Congress could rule Delhi again
Delhi, it seems, has been running on innuendos, grapevine and guesswork these last few months.
With the Lieutenant Governor's letter to the President reportedly seeking out the BJP to form the government in Delhi, it was understood that the saffron party was all set to be in power. The situation has now, almost overnight, turned on its head. There's also a strong possibility that the Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress could once again form the government in Delhi.
There is one big thing, as of now, that goes against the BJP's chances of forming a government in the capital. We need to remember (much to former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal's chagrin) that despite the BJP having emerged as the majority in December, the then Delhi BJP president, Harsh Vardhan, had written to the LG stating that they were not in a position to form the government for sheer lack of numbers.
During the last Assembly polls, they had a seat share of 31 out of a total of 70 seats, along with the support from the lone MLA from the Shiromani Akali Dal. Now, with three of their MLAs in Parliament, the party's effective strength is down to 28, and the idea of a minority government seems like a far cry.
On the other hand, if we are to assume that the LG still wants the BJP to run Delhi, we have to now take into account that the party's image has taken a severe beating with regard to horse-trading charges, with AAP having released a damning sting-operation clip. If one-third of AAP legislators do not turn "right", the party will continue to lack the numbers to push it up to the requisite number of 36 legislators in the Assembly.
The Congress, meanwhile, has upped its game. A belligerent Arvinder Singh of the Congress is tightly controlling the reins of the party. While the party is crying hoarse about "good governance", former Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit, too, is back from exile, subtly demanding BJP to prove their numbers. Despite Kejriwal being single-handedly responsible for the current deadlock, AAP, too, seems to have regained some face. Should the two parties decide to kiss and make up, they could have the keys to the Assembly once again.
This time round, it seems, the Modi wave may not be sufficient to see the saffron party through, if the Bihar by-poll results on August 21 are anything to go by - where the alliance of the two former chief ministers along with the Congress won them six of the ten seats in the state.
If there are to be polls any time soon, it remains to be seen whether or not the BJP's dream of achhe din at the Capital's Assembly attains fruition or not.