With no political party ready to form the government, Delhi is legally ready for President's rule.
After Lt-Governor Najeeb Jung wrote to President Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday, giving him a "factual report" on the current political situation, speculation has been rife on whether the Aam Aadmi Party would be given enough time to garner "conditional" support from Congress and BJP to form the government.
Sources in Raj Niwas said a factual report had been sent to the President, and the next step would be taken "as per the Constitution of India" with regard to forming a government once a response is received in this regard.
Following Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit's resignation on December 8, Jung became de-facto head of the state and assumed all additional responsibility till the next government is formed. Chief Secretary D M Spolia, who earlier reported to the chief minister, has already been reporting to Jung on all matters.
While Jung is now awaiting a directive from the President, there is no deadline for the administrative head to conduct an Assembly session. The last Assembly session was dissolved by the Lt-Governor on December 8, the day the election results were announced. Experts said the President may even choose to keep government formation in "suspended animation," as there is no deadline to constitute the new Assembly.
On Saturday, the AAP put the onus on the Congress and BJP for taking their support to form a government by putting forth 18 conditions and wanting to know their views on them, a move seen as an attempt to rebut criticism it was shying away from the responsibility of government formation. After meeting Jung, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal had said he did not seek any time-frame from the Lt-Governor for government formation.