The political chess being played out saw Congress offering "unconditional" support to AAP on Friday and the latter responding by seeking assurances on issues such as an audit of power discoms, rollback of FDI in retail, supply of free water and passage of a "Jan Lokpal Bill".
Chaffing at being bested by a new party their refused to take seriously, both Congress and BJP leaders have been privately expressing the view that AAP should be "allowed" to form a government and calculating that the new outfit would be swiftly discredited once in office.
The hope that AAP will implode is based on the assessment that the newbie has made promises of free water and slashed power rates that are near impossible to deliver. The test of governance will prove AAP's undoing, the big two of Delhi politics seem to feel.
Aware that running a minority government or depending on Congress for outside support is a fraught task, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal has, in turn, declared that he will expose the "shifty politics" of the national parties and sought to sidestep what he sees as a lure by unrolling a charter of action that embarrasses both Congress and BJP.
AAP seems to be looking for an escape route as it will find it difficult to explain why it has chosen to deviate from its stand that BJP and Congress are two sides of the same coin and any truck with them will sully its image and transparency agenda.
Congress leader Arvinder Singh Lovely promptly slammed AAP for grandstanding, saying the conditions were unreasonable and said most of the 18 issues outlined lay in the domain of executive action, something that does not require support in the state assembly.
Kejriwal sought time from Delhi lieutenant governor Naseeb Jung on Saturday for greater clarity as to the nature of the support offered by Congress, but was quick to point out "Both Congress and BJP are competing to offer support...But what is their intent? I know it is not positive."
AAP has been chary of accepting support or running a minority government, but needs to demonstrate that it is not being stubborn in rejecting office. On the other hand, Congress seems to keen to demonstrate humility in defeat while also setting out a fur-lined trap of the outfit that played a key role in its rout in Delhi.
With Congress and AAP circling each other warily, BJP has said it is willing to sit in the opposition and play a constructive role. "We have not accepted support nor are we going to offer it. The party is willing to let AAP or any alliance between AAP and Congress to assume office without being a facilitator."
The challenge thrown by Kejriwal is intended to set unacceptable terms for Congress as an investigation into power discoms clearly targets former chief minister Sheila Dikshit and suggests wrongdoings by the previous government. So does the pledge to probe graft cases relating to the Commonwealth Games.
"Problems we have listed in our letter are those that have been created by Congress and BJP. It is their people who come under the Lokpal net. Can we still expect support from them? And what is the harm if these issues are clarified before government formation?" asked AAP MLA Manish Sisodia.
Kejriwal shot off letters to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and BJP president Rajnath Singh, setting out the 18 points and asking if the two national parties are still willing to support AAP.
Despite a slim chance of receiving a positive response, Kejriwal still played safe and said AAP will ask for a public mandate to decide whether it will form government or not.
The assembly arithmetic has made it almost impossible for any party to fish for support. AAP won a stunning 28 seats in the 70-member Delhi assembly, while BJP bagged 32 seats. With just one independent — a BJP rebel — and a lone Janata Dal (U) member, the only other group in the assembly is Congress with eight MLAs.
The LG, who sent a report to the home ministry, told AAP that he is willing to wait. AAP too has set no deadline for Congress and BJP to respond. "It is an open ended offer from us. The ball in their court now. Let us wait and see when and what they say in response to our letter," said Sisodia.
During and after the election, the fledgling party drew fire from its weightier rivals for being a maverick and accused of skirting responsibility of a government formation since it had made lofty promises it was incapable of fulfilling.
"Congress and BJP have been trying very hard to trap us but now it is our turn to expose the shifty politics they play. BJP emerged as the largest party after these elections. They have conveniently washed their hands of government formation. Till the results came out, both parties dismissed AAP as a nobody, called us pests," added Sisodia.
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