The Union Cabinet finally gave its nod to holding a fresh election for the Assembly of the Union Territory of Delhi on Tuesday. With this formality out of the way, the dissolution of the present Assembly, which has been in suspended animation since AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal resigned as chief minister in February this year, will be announced by lieutenant-governor Najeeb Jung as a matter of course. It is to be hoped that the fresh poll for Delhi will be held alongside Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir by December this year.
The Assembly which got hobbled as no party had the numbers to form a clear government had been elected in December 2013, and had an effective life of only 49 days. Even if the Delhi election can be announced for December, and the new government can take charge in weeks after that, the national capital would have been without representative government for a year.
This is a dubious distinction. Typically, only states where militancy has been a serious problem have had President’s Rule prolonged. The state election for Delhi could have been held along with the Lok Sabha poll in May. But none of the three significant parties involved seemed interested. The Congress had been licked in the December 2013 state election in which stalwart CM Sheila Dikshit also had to taste bitter defeat.
The BJP had fancied its chances to replace the Congress, but fell short of numbers. The party even lost the seats where its mascot Narendra Modi had campaigned. The AAP, which seemed like the magical new player on the scene, had burned its fingers and was unsure of the situation. Mr Kejriwal had asked for dissolving the Assembly, but did so after losing his majority.
This rendered his recommendation non sequitur in terms of constitutional practice. However, given the numbers, it soon became clear that no party was in a position to form government without resorting to horse-trading. The L-G alas took too long to grasp this, permitting the belief to gain ground that he was seeking to find ways to help the BJP form a minority government. With the Supreme Court — following an application to it by the AAP — keeping up the pressure on the L-G to either attempt government formation within the existing Assembly or go for fresh polls, Mr Jung couldn’t wait interminably for the biggest party in the Assembly, the BJP. On Monday, he held consultations with all the parties and came to the conclusion that was ineluctable even six months earlier — that fresh polls couldn’t be avoided.
We hope these are not delayed. A delay will lead to the unfortunate suspicion — even if untrue — that all concerned are waiting for BJP to decide the appropriate time. The Election Commission must act with dispatch.
