BJP's chief ministerial candidate Harsh Vardhan
Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung will meet BJP's chief ministerial candidate Harsh Vardhan today as he begins formal discussions to try and end the uncertainty over who will form the government in Delhi.
On Wednesday, President Pranab Mukherjee called Mr Jung to ask about the Delhi situation amid speculation that president's rule and fresh polls may be the capital's best option.
The BJP, which won 31 seats in Delhi, emerged as the largest single party in last week's assembly polls, but is five short of a majority in the 70-seat Delhi assembly.
Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was the runner up with 28 seats in the assembly, followed by the Congress' eight. The AAP has refused to either give or take support to form a government.
Sensing the public mood after Mr Kejriwal's party claimed enormous voters' support with the promise of clean politics, the BJP has refused to make any efforts to cobble up a majority to take power. The party says it has not won a clear mandate to rule; it will sit in Opposition.
Dr Harsh Vardhan said on Wednesday that he told the Lieutenant Governor he was going to Raipur today for Raman Singh's swearing in as Chhattisgarh Chief Minister and would be able to meet him only after his return in the evening.
"The LG called me and asked me to meet him tomorrow (on Thursday) to discuss (govt formation)", he said.
Yesterday, both the BJP and the AAP said they were prepared for fresh elections if no party could form a government.
The Lieutenant Governor has been consulting experts on the next course of action. Sources say the Lieutenant Governor was considering "all options" after the publicly stated position of the BJP and AAP.
One option is to impose President's Rule, with the Lieutenant Governor running the government with the help of a group of advisers.
It is learnt that the Lieutenant Governor is also considering sending a report to the Union Home Ministry before inviting any party to form the government.
At a meeting on Tuesday, senior BJP leaders told its 31 newly-elected MLAs to get ready for elections in the next few months, and think of themselves as candidates, not elected legislators.