Presidential nod to AAP government, floor test by Jan 3

President Pranab Mukherjee has cleared the decks for the formation of a minority AAP government with Congress backing in Delhi and chief minister-designate Arvind Kejriwal may be asked to prove majority by Jan 3, official sources said Wednesday.

According to the sources, the home ministry has received a formal communication from the president on government formation and this has been forwarded to Delhi's Lieutenant Governor (LG) Najeeb Jung.

"It means the LG can now decide when and where to hold the swearing-in ceremony," a ministry official told IANS.

According to a statement from the Delhi secretariat: "The President has directed that Kejriwal may be asked to prove his majority on the floor of the house within seven days from the date on which he takes oath of office."

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Wednesday said Kejriwal would take oath as Delhi's chief minister Saturday at Ramlila Maidan.

"We have requested the Lt. Governor that we want to take oath Dec 28 (Saturday), and he has agreed," AAP's Kumar Vishwas told reporters.

Besides Kejriwal, the president has approved the list of six AAP ministers - Manish Sisodia, Somnath Bharti, Satyendra Kumar Jain, Rakhi Birla, Girish Soni and Saurabh Bhardwaj - to be sworn in, said a statement.

The AAP has 28 seats in the 70-member house. The Congress, which is extending outside support to the government, has eight legislators. The Bharatiya Janata Party won 31 seats in the Dec 4 assembly polls.