But the BJP, which received a sound thrashing, is attempting to turn 13 into 21. At a press conference the Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar announced that the party was in touch with smaller parties and independents, which together constitute 10 seats, in a bid to form government. His argument is that the electorate has delivered a fractured mandate and therefore any party can make a bid to form government provided it has the numbers. Parrikar virtually said such an attempt would be legitimate since the BJP had garnered a larger vote share than the Congress.
Nothing can be more perverse than a party, which has been convincingly voted out, using its clout at the Centre to form government. Nothing can be more upsetting than an attempt by the BJP to overturn the verdict of the electorate because it has a Governor of its choice in the Raj Bhavan. Nothing can be more worrying than a back-room manoeuvre to undermine the guiding principle of an election, which is, the single largest party must get the first choice to form government.
This is a blatant attempt to overturn the verdict and pervert the democratic system and the Governor, who has sworn to protect the Constitution and the democratic fabric of the nation, must desist from being party to this absurd course of action.
