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Sheila Dikshit backs BJP's bid to form govt in Delhi, Congress ‘shocked’

Former Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit

NEW DELHI: Two Congress MLAs on Friday came out in support of Sheila Dikshit 's views that BJP should be given a chance to try and form a government in Delhi, defying the party leadership's disapproval of the former CM's remarks and escalating the suspense of what might unfold in the Capital's power sweepstakes before the October 10 deadline set by the Supreme Court for the lieutenant governor runs out.The stand of Mateen Ahmad and Asif Mohammad Khan, MLAs from Seelampur and Okhla, was initially supported by another colleague. Chandni Chowk MLA Prahlad Singh Sahani had supported Dikshit on Thursday, though on Friday he cited the authority of the central leadership to retreat to the more diplomatic "no comment" posture.The day also saw sources in the buoyant BJP claiming that at least six AAP MLAs were in touch with the saffron party."All those who are demanding that Dikshit be thrown out of the Congress for her remarks must take action against me too. They must throw me also out of the party as I am supporting her views. What is wrong in her remarks," said Ahmad. Indeed, he went a step farther, saying, "I also feel that if the BJP can form government, it must do so. This confusion has been on for months. Now clarity is important."Okhla MLA Khan also supported Dikshit. "There is nothing wrong in what Sheila Dikshit has said. BJP should form the government if they have the numbers."BJP has 29 MLAs in the House with an effective strength of 67.Although the MLAs gave no indication at all to suggest that they could help BJP form the government, their statements were seen as significant and not just because they came after the leadership publicly frowned on Dikshit's non-partisan stance on government formation. The remarks, just as those of Dikshit the previous day, marked a departure from the "we will not let communal forces capture power at any cost" position that Congress almost reflexively takes in situations like these to advertize its antipathy towards BJP.Ahmad and Khan represent Muslim majority constituencies, and that was another reason why political circles viewed as extraordinary their equanimity towards the prospect of BJP coming to power in the capital. In fact, Sahani's constituency too has sizeable Muslim concentration.The development takes on significance also because of the stubborn speculation that the anxiety of MLAs, something which Dikshit also alluded to in her statement, could work to BJP's advantage. To deepen the sense of intrigue about the unorthodox political positions of Ahmad and Khan, two other Congress MLAs, Jaikishan and Devendra Yadav, refrained from endorsing the stand of party chief Arvinder Singh and legislature group leader Haroon Yusuf for immediate dissolution of the assembly.Since the election of Narendra Modi as PM, the city's political circles have been rife with speculation about a group of MLAs belonging to Congress and AAP planning to head off the daunting possibility of having to face election by helping BJP form the government. Although the scenario where the deadlock in the assembly gets resolved in BJP's favour because of help from "borrowed" players has not come to pass, the talk has stubbornly persisted.It got a fresh fillip because of statements of Dikshit and her Congress colleagues, and lent credence to BJP's claims that they, despite numbers having proven elusive so far, could still form the government. "At least six AAP MLAs have indicated their willingness to help BJP form the government," said a party functionary.While he wished to stay anonymous, Delhi BJP chief Satish Upadhyaya placed on record the party's happiness over the turn of events in Congress. "We have been saying from the start that none of the MLAs, irrespective of the political party, wants election in the state. We will just put a burden of Rs 1,000 crore on the state exchequer. What Sheila Dikshit said yesterday was from her experience. Though we have ideological differences, we respect what she has said. If Congress MLAs agree with her, then it is good for the state," Upadhyaya said.