New Delhi : Prodded by the RSS, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) declared Sunday that it was ready for fresh assembly elections in Delhi.
The BJP’s new state president Satish Upadhyay made the announcement after a half hour meeting with Home Minister Rajnath Singh here.
He said if the polls were announced, “the BJP is fully prepared to contest”.
He added in the same breath that if Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung invited the Bharatiya Janata Party to form a government, “we will analyse the situation and take a decision”.
“Delhi needs a good, transparent government that can give time-bound delivery,” Upadhyay said.
A BJP source told IANS that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh was not keen on government formation minus election by the BJP at a time when the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was accusing it of horse-trading.
“The RSS wants us to prepare for elections,” the source said.
Upadhyay said he and Rajnath Singh discussed issues concerning Delhi, including the possibility of employing ex-servicemen to look after the day-to-day affairs of the municipal corporation.
“We discussed whether ex-servicemen can be given limited power to look after the day-to-day affairs of the MCD,” Upadhyay said.
Upadhyay further told IANS that problems related to the corporation were discussed with Rajnath Singh. Also present were all three mayors of the MCD and other BJP leaders in the capital.
Delhi has been under President’s Rule after AAP Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, heading a minority government, resigned Feb 14. The BJP now has 28 seats in the 70-member legislature.
In the Decembre 2013 election, no party got a majority to form a government. The BJP won 31 seats but three of them have been elected to the Lok Sabha. The AAP won 28 seats and the Congress eight seats.