Chaos in Delhi assembly before Arvind Kejriwal's resignation in February
In the middle of a bitterly-fought national election, the Congress and the BJP have joined hands for a cause - to oppose the Aam Aadmi Party's call for fresh polls in Delhi.
The rivals have opposed in the Supreme Court a petition by Arvind Kejriwal's party for dissolving the Delhi assembly and holding fresh elections.
"AAP petition should be dismissed with a fine," both the Congress and the BJP said in their replies, asserting that it is for the Lieutenant-Governor to decide on dissolving the assembly or calling any party to form a government.
The court today said it can't impose any opinion on the Lieutenant Governor or the President. It also agreed that the Lieutenant Governor can decide if fresh polls can be held in Delhi right away, after dissolving the assembly.
The BJP had called the AAP petition an attempt to "short circuit the democratic process". The party argued that the numbers in the assembly are likely to change after the national election.
The Congress said it was not against holding an election, but "it is not desirable and conducive to public interest to hold frequent elections for short durations."
Delhi has been under President's Rule since February, when Arvind Kejriwal abruptly quit as Chief Minister after 49 days in power, after failing to push his anti-corruption Jan Lokpal Bill in the Delhi assembly. Mr Kejriwal had accused the Congress and the BJP of "match-fixing" or conspiring together to oppose his pet proposal.
AAP had moved Supreme Court saying central rule was imposed in Delhi to stall the probe into corruption cases filed by the Kejriwal government. The court had then asked the BJP, Congress and the Centre to respond.
Mr Kejriwal's party took power in Delhi in December after a spectacular debut in the state polls, placing second after the BJP and reducing the Congress to a single-digit tally in the 70-member assembly.