NEW DELHI: Indian President Pranab Mukherjee has cleared the decks for formation of a minority government in Delhi and chief minister-designate Arvind Kejriwal of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) may be asked to prove majority by January 3, official sources said on 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. A statement by the Delhi secretariat said: “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 the oath of office.”

The AAP said that Kejriwal would take oath as Delhi’s chief minister on Saturday at Ramlila Maidan.

“We have requested the lieutenant governor that we want to take oath on December 28, and he has agreed,” AAP’s Kumar Vishwas told reporters.

The president has also 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 December 4 assembly polls.

By arrangement with the Times of India