VK loyal to Assembly, will be leader of Opposition

Stepping away from the BJP8217;s past reactions to defeat, party leader Vijay Kumar Malhotra on Sunday announced he would stay with the Delhi Legislative Assembly instead of walking away.

Stepping away from the BJP8217;s past reactions to defeat, party leader Vijay Kumar Malhotra on Sunday announced he would stay with the Delhi Legislative Assembly instead of walking away. He is set to resign from his seat in the Lok Sabha at the earliest.

Malhotra on Sunday evening met workers who had campaigned for him in his constituency in Greater Kailash to thank them personally. At the function he told workers, 8220;There are several rumours doing the rounds. Some people are even publishing posters in anticipation of the upcoming elections. But there will be no re-polling in Greater Kailash, I am not going anywhere,8221; Malhotra said.

Malhotra will be the Leader of Opposition. He even ruled out contesting the upcoming Lok Sabha election due in a few months. 8220;If I8217;ve opted to run for Delhi Assembly, I cannot just walk away after defeat. It is my moral responsibility to stay with colleagues here,8221; Malhotra said.

BJP leaders, however, have reacted differently in the past. In 1998, Sushma Swaraj contested from Hauz Khas Assembly constituency and later resigned from it after the BJP8217;s defeat in the polls. Swaraj had assumed the post of chief minister just a month ahead of the elections in 1998. In 2003, Madan Lal Khurana did a repeat.

8220;Malhotra has made a wise move. Both Swaraj and Khurana who had forgone their Delhi Assembly posts were pushed into oblivion,8221; said a senior BJP leader.

Viewing BJP8217;s defeat positively, Malhotra said, 8220;The vote share of the BJP was more this time as compared to the MCD elections. In the MCD elections, we got 36.17 per cent while this time we increased it to 36.88 per cent. Also the difference in vote share between Congress and BJP is merely 3 per cent.8221;

The BJP will now start analysing what went wrong. Malhotra said stern action will be taken against workers or even councillors if it is proved that they did not perform during the elections.

Story continues below this ad

Sheila8217;s Cabinet
The Congress government, including Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and her six ministers, would be sworn in on Wednesday. At least three ministers from Dikshit8217;s old Cabinet are believed to be shown the door including transport minister Haroon Yusuf, health minister Yoganand Shastri and Industries minister Mangat Ram Singhal. Instead of these three, Malviya Nagar MLA Kiran Walia and Shahdara MLA Narender Nath are likely to find a place. Sources said search is still on for Yusuf8217;s replacement.