Hiccups for Kejriwal: Support not Unconditional says Shiela Dixit

Delhi Chief Minister Designate 

Even before Arvind Kejriwal assumes office of Delhi chief minister, the Congress has began flexing its muscles. Former chief minister Shiela Dixit says, “Support of the Congress is not unconditional”. It will take some time before Congress leaders realize that their support to Aam Admi Party to help Arvind Kejriwal become Delhi’s next chief minister is politically suicidal. The Congress Party agreed to support Kejriwal just to keep the BJP out of the race to form government. But the BJP had already decided not to stake claim to form government since the Party did not have absolute majority of 36 MLAs in the House of 70.

Now that Kejriwal is going to take oath office on 26^th December, the Congress Party seems to be in rdilemma what to do next. It is not going to be easy decision to halt Kejriwal from becoming Delhi chief minister by withdrawing its pledge to support the Aam Admi Party at the eleventh hour. Once the government is formed, Kejriwal will rush for decisions that his Party has promised in its manifesto. How can the Congress oppose populist measures of the new government?

Unless something unforeseen happens, the Congress is likely to continue supporting the government irrespective of its administrative decisions that may include role of the Shiela Dixit led Congress government in the Common Wealth Games scam of 2010 till Lok Sabha elections. That means the AAm Admi Party minority government would be in office at least for another 6 months unless Kejriwal changes his mind and resigns before the Lok Sabha polls to gain public sympathy. He could resign on two grounds. First,  Congress not supporting the new government’s decisions some of which may be irrational and out of gear from administrative point of view. If the promised reduction in electricity charges by fifty percent from the prevailing rates is implemented, the Delhi government may need huge subsidy from the Centre. According to one estimate, the subsidy may run into more than a thousand crores of rupees.

Secondly, Kejriwal with a well crafted move may quit office putting the blame on the Congress and the Centre to present himself as ‘martyr’ of the corrupt political system of which he is now a part of. There are differences within the rank and file of the Aam Admi Party over forming the government with the support of a Party that was charged with running a corrupt government. A cursory look at the tenure of election speeches of Kejriwal would show how critical he was of the Congress government. He described the Shiela Dixit government as most corrupt and did not spare even Dixit of being corrupt.

Questions will be asked how the Aam Admi Party took the support of the Congress to come to power in Delhi.

The first trial of strength on the floor of Delhi Assembly should not pose any threat to the new government since the Congress will support the motion of trust and the BJP in all likelyhoow abstain from voting though I am not sure of this since any decision in this regard would be taken by the leadership of the BJP in New Delhi.

Kejriwal’s real trial of strength on the floor of the House would be enacting laws to pass the Jan Lokayukt bill   for Delhi. Here the Congress may not support the legislation and the BJP is not obliged to support it either if the bill is not sound on law. Should this happen, it will be difficult for Kejriwal to continue in office.

~R. K. Sinha