Madhu Koda waves to the crowd on his arrival at Birsa Munda airport in Ranchi on Friday. Picture by Prashant Mitra

New Delhi, Jan. 11: The sight of Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda trembling on the brink has delighted the BJP central leadership and it is not at all inclined to offer a helping hand.

“We want him to fall. But there should be elections soon as and when the government goes,” a senior BJP leader told The Telegraph today.

The BJP leadership has been contacted by the Independent legislators who are frightened by the threat issued by the Congress.

These turncoats, who had earlier deserted Arjun Munda to join the Madhu Koda government, are desperate to avoid early elections and have sent feelers to the BJP for an alternative arrangement.

But the BJP leadership favours fresh polls as they don’t want to dilute the effects of anti-incumbency against the rival combine comprising the Congress, the JMM and the RJD.

Sources say even Koda was jittery and had indicated he could work as a minister in any alternative arrangement if the BJP was interested in forming the government. Most of the Independent MLAs as well as former chief minister Arjun Munda are in New Delhi amidst speculation of a change in Ranchi but neither the BJP, nor the Congress leadership appear interested in any fresh experiment. Even the Congress leadership appears to have changed its mind after the setbacks in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.

They would not like to indulge in any political misadventure at this juncture as Karnataka election anyway poses a tough challenge in the coming months.

Sources say Ajay Maken, in charge of Jharkhand, has been asked to go slow and restrict the party’s posturing to sending out clear messages that it was not happy with the quality of governance.

The Congress objective too is to escape the attack of the anti-incumbency demon and hence it is trying to distance itself from the Koda government. The party high command understands it needs time to set its house in order and hence would like to delay the election for some time even after the Koda government falls.

That means it should be in a position to impose President’s rule after the government’s fall. That won’t be easy as the BJP is not going to be a silent spectator to these machinations. The readiness of the Independents to cross over create so many imponderables that the Congress cannot take things for granted.

There cannot be foolproof project for keeping the state under the President’s rule as the BJP may later change its stance and stake claim by mustering adequate numbers.

The governor had earned enough brickbats for playing foul in the past and would hesitate to repeat his heroics at this stage.

In fact, BJP leaders say they will fight tooth and nail any attempt to place the state under the Central rule. Sources say even RJD leader Lalu Prasad and JMM chief Shibu Soren are reluctant to dislodge the government. All these factors combine to give a fresh lease of life to Koda. But political leaders here are convinced his chief ministership is like a pre-paid card whose validity depends on political circumstances outside Jharkhand.

Maybe, he will have to recharge the card after the Karnataka election.