Delhi cabinet minister Manish Sisodia with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at the Delhi Assembly on Thursday
After winning the trust vote with Congress' support yesterday, Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party may get its own Speaker in the Delhi Assembly today, though it does not have the numbers on its own.
Opposition BJP has fielded Jagdish Mukhi against AAP's MS Dhir in the election scheduled for today.
Congress, which backed the confidence motion sought by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal yesterday and helped its easy passage, has maintained a studied silence whether it would support Mr Dhir. However, party sources said it would not rock the government's boat just a day after helping it secure the assembly confidence.
Mr Mukhi and Mr Dhir are the only candidates in the fray for the Speaker's post after the deadline for filing nominations expired yesterday.
AAP, which has 28 MLAs, needs the backing of seven Congress MLAs to secure the Speaker's post for itself. It can also count on the support of lone JD(U) MLA and an Independent who also backed the confidence motion.
Mr Kejriwal appeared not too worried about the Speaker's election.
Asked at a media conference after his victory in the trust vote about the challenge of Speaker's election, he said, "That's not our challenge. Whoever becomes Speaker, it does not matter."