National parties shoot for gold in battle for Delhi

Delhi chief minister Atishi, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal and party leaders Manish Sisodia and Gopal Rai during the party's campaign in New Delhi. (Photo: PTI)
Delhi chief minister Atishi, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal and party leaders Manish Sisodia and Gopal Rai during the party's campaign in New Delhi. (Photo: PTI)

Summary

  • Key issues related to the well-being of people are lost in the vicious contest

Why is there such a hoopla around the Delhi assembly election scheduled to be held in February? The answer is clear: Delhi assembly elections are unique as they have become a prestige match for three national parties.

Let’s begin with the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Its leader Arvind Kejriwal is in the fray and determined to win a fourth term. A lot of water has flown down the Yamuna since he assumed power in Delhi 12 years ago. AAP became a national political party in 2022, after it secured 12.9% of the total votes polled in the Gujarat assembly election. In Punjab, their government has a clear mandate. AAP is currently the only opposition party other than the Congress to be in power in two states.

This fact enthuses those who want a non-Congress, non-BJP government. But disturbing realities haunt AAP, too. Most of their founding leaders are no longer with the party. The party, which came to power on an anti-corruption agenda, itself has some top leaders facing jail terms on charges of corruption.

This is why AAP leaders went into a public relations overdrive the moment they were released from jail, to turn public opinion back in their favour. The party needs a huge mandate, and not a simple majority, to counter the threat to its government as it fears BJP may lure some of its legislators. They also know a defeat will threaten their political existence.

Also read: Big boost for Arvind Kejriwal, setback for Congress as Mamata Banerjee backs AAP in Delhi election

If AAP manages to form the government for the fourth time in a row in Delhi, Kejriwal can nurse greater ambitions. He can look to expanding to other states and also have better leverage within the INDIA bloc, which is already facing issues. Mamata Banerjee has made it clear that she’s against Congress’s pre-eminent position in the bloc. Sharad Pawar, Akhilesh Yadav, and Arvind Kejriwal have obliquely supported her assertions. Mamata’s claims will gain heft if the AAP forms the government in Delhi and the Congress fails to make a dent. This makes the Delhi elections a make-or-break contest for the Congress.

Is the Congress ready for it? Initial reports don’t enthuse their supporters. Till now Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Vadra, and Mallikarjun Kharge haven’t addressed even one public meeting in Delhi. Rahul will be addressing his first public rally today. Isn’t it a tad late for the party to cover lost ground, while their opponent Kejriwal and his associates have been campaigning for weeks? Will the Congress pay for their lackadaisical approach in Delhi, too? Experts say Kejriwal will find it hard to form a government on his own if Congress wins a little over 10% of the votes. But will the Congress be able to pull it off?

At the last assembly election, 63 of its 66 candidates lost their deposits and the party could only muster 4.26% of the votes. Its state leaders and workers may work hard, but till the top leaders put in the hard yards, they shouldn’t expect any miracle.

Also read: Delhi election 2025 dates declared: Arvind Kejriwal says AAP ’will definitely win’, how others reacted

This is where mentioning BJP becomes imperative. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is addressing a series of rallies in Delhi. Just before the elections were announced, he inaugurated India’s first high-speed inter-city train on the RRTS section between New Ashok Nagar in Delhi and Meerut. Earlier he devoted projects and schemes worth thousands of crores of rupees. Amit Shah and J. P. Nadda are keenly involved in the election process. During the Haryana and Maharashtra elections, the central leadership had minutely observed and managed the electoral process and the same efforts are visible in Delhi.

BJP knows that such efforts are needed to defeat Kejriwal in his den. BJP’s urgency stems from the fact that Kejriwal’s brand of politics deals the greatest damage to the party.

Apart from these national parties, Bahujan Samaj Party, and those of Asaduddin Owaisi and Chandrashekhar are also in the fray. Can they perform a miracle, or will they end up playing spoilsport for national parties?

We need to remember another fact. During the last Lok Sabha elections, the majority Muslims voted for the Congress-led INDIA bloc. All assembly elections since the Lok Sabha results in May 2024 have witnessed a trend where Muslims are gravitating towards Congress. Will the minority vote for Congress or remain loyal to Kejriwal?

The parties are leaving no stone unturned to win. But the tragedy is that important issues related to the well-being of the people are lost in this vicious contest. It’s clear that Indian democracy is still evolving, and has a long way to go.

Shashi Shekhar is editor-in-chief, Hindustan. Views are personal.

Also read: Delhi Elections 2025: BJP announces second list of 29 candidates; Kapil Mishra fielded from Karawal Nagar | Check names

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