Delhi may be back in centre’s fold as BJP, AAP fail to get numbers right
13 Dec 2013
The administration of the national capital region of Delhi is almost back in the hands of the ruling party at the centre after the Aam Aadmi Party led by Arvind Kejriwal had made it clear at the outset that it would opt out of trying to form a government without a clear majority.
Earlier during the day, Arvind Kejriwal looked all set to be the new chief minister of the national capital after AAP spokesperson Kumar Viswas hinted at the party trying to form a minority government in Delhi.
Kejriwal who defeated three-time chief minister Sheila Dikshit in the recently concluded elections to the Delhi assembly, also helped the AAP secure 28 of the 70 assembly seats, eight short of a majority.
Meanwhile, the Congress party had offered to support AAP from outside to form a government, to keep the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) out of power in the national capital region.
But, better wisdom prevailed and AAP decided not to seek support of the Congress, as an alliance would have bridged the chasm between AAP and the Congress.
In fact, an alliance with either of the two parties would have been suicidal for the new political party.
Instead, the party has now set its eyes on Rajasthan where the BJP won by a huge majority.
AAP now plans to contest elections to the Jaipur Municipal Corporation (JMC) and the Lok Sabha elections in the state next year.
The state unit of AAP has already started preparations for contesting parliamentary elections in all the 25 Lok Sabha seats in the state and from all the 77 wards of the JMC. Both these elections are scheduled to be held next year.
The party will adopt a strategy similar to the one it used in Delhi, taking up issues like corruption, electricity, water and tainted leaders to win the confidence of the local people.
Sources said the party has already started collecting data about corruption cases against the BJP and Congress leaders in the state.
The party will formally start campaigning for the parliamentary and the JMC elections after getting a go-ahead from its national council.
