Lucknow : Mayawati sets eyes on forming govt in Delhi

TNN

Lucknow, Jul 21, 2014 : Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) is still not certain over the formation of government in Delhi, while Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati has moved into poll gear. 

 

Sensing a possible assembly election in the national capital, Mayawati has called all top leaders of her party to Delhi. Sources said she has asked leaders to start preparations by forming new sector and booth committees. 

 

President of Delhi BSP unit, Ram Achal Rajbhar, has been asked to hold a series of meetings with the BSP cadre and other leaders to assess the situation. He confirmed they had been called to Delhi to take stock of the preparedness. "There is certainly a possibility of elections. We are preparing for it," Rajbhar told TOI. He said that the party president has asked leaders to restructure the sector and booth committees even if there are no elections. 

 

 

He said the party would contest on all 70 assembly seats in Delhi in case of a poll. 

 

Sources said the party is already reviewing the caste configurations in different assembly seats in Delhi. "Accordingly, the booth and sector committees will be formed," a senior BSP leader said. 

 

BSP could not win a single seat in Delhi in the last assembly elections. In 2008, however, the BSP had won two seats and managed to get 14.05% of the vote share. This time too, the party seeks to get at least two seats in a bid to ward off the possibility of losing its national status after the drubbing in the recently held Lok Sabha election. 

 

Delhi is under President’s rule after the Aam Aadmi Party that had outside support from the Congress quit the government within 49 days. The 2013 Delhi assembly elections had thrown a hung assembly. While the BJP emerged as the single largest party with 32 seats, AAP won 28 seats. The Congress managed only eight seats. 

 

Political experts pointed out that the BJP might just be ready to contest an election given the fact that the Lok Sabha results decisively placed an NDA government at the Centre. "The BJP leadership will look to cash in on the Modi wave and explore the possibility of elections. Hence the preparations on our part,’’ said S K Dwivedi, a political expert. He said the party would soon be deciding the list of candidates for Delhi. 

 

Political experts insist that the BJP’s sweep of all seven Lok Sabha seats had injected further urgency to go in for assembly elections. 

 

Lieutenant governor of Delhi, Najeeb Jung, too had earlier indicated that he would review the political situation in Delhi after the Lok Sabha results. Interestingly, BJP has recently been showing signs of electing its leader of legislative party, signalling the possibility of BJP forming a government in Delhi.