The Centre is set to move a Bill in Parliament to replace the ordinance on the control of services brought soon after the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the Delhi government on the matter. The Bill, if passed, will effectively hand back control over Delhi services to the central government.
The Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party has turned the issue into a condition for supporting the ongoing efforts by the Opposition to unite against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2024. On Monday, Kejriwal’s efforts appeared to have paid off as Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge announced the party’s support for AAP’s opposition to the ordinance.
Also Read: Supreme Court mulls referring Delhi govt’s plea on Centre’s ordinance to Constitution bench
Yet, the Centre appears to be on solid footing in the Rajya Sabha despite lacking a majority in the House. The latest round of elections to 10 seats in the Upper House is unlikely to make any difference to the BJP’s tally, while the Congress’ numbers could drop to 30 in the 245-member House.
The seven Rajya Sabha seats getting vacant later this month shall bring the effective tally of the House lower to 238, and the majority mark to 120. Of the 106 NDA seats in the House, the BJP has 93, including five nominated members. There are five other nominated members who are not affiliated to any party but are likely to back the Centre, taking its tally to 111.
On the other hand, the Opposition number effectively stands at 106 with 21 members from the YSRCP, BJD, BSP, TDP and JD(S) yet to spell out their stand. Many of these parties are among those whom the BJP’s top leadership has reached out to in the past few days amid the party’s renewed focus on allying with new parties and reworking broken partnerships.
Among them, the Biju Janata Dal and the YSRCP have traditionally backed the BJP or walked out ahead of voting on matters the BJP has found itself wanting in numbers. The two parties, who command a strength of nine seats each, have not spelt out their stand in favour or against the ordinance. Their support will be crucial for the BJP in getting the Ordinance to pass the Rajya Sabha test.
The BJP may find itself in a tough spot if the two parties choose to oppose the Bill in the Upper House. On the other hand, the support from all five parties — YSRCP, BJD, BSP, TDP and JD(S) — could take its tally above 130, well beyond the majority mark. Should these parties choose to walk out, the effective majority mark will drop to 111 which it can then easily surpass.
The war over the Delhi ordinance began after the Centre issued an ordinance, the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) (Amendment) Ordinance, 2023, on May 19, effectively negating the Supreme Court’s May 11 order which gave the elected government of Delhi control over all matters related to the transfer and postings of bureaucrats in the national capital.