Delhi's high-stakes showdown: Kejriwal vs BJP blitz

The dates are set, the countdown has begun, The battle for Delhi will take place on the 5th of February, with results on the 8th. Even though Delhi is a Union Territory with 70 assembly seats, as the seat of the national capital, it is a prestige battle like no other. For all the key players, this is a defining election for many reasons. This is the state of play for them:

AAP: the Aam Aadmi party or the AAP has been in power in Delhi since 2013 and this is their toughest electoral battle yet. Born from the anti corruption movement led by activist Anna Hazare, the AAP had a spectacular rise to power and won 62 of the 70 assembly seats in 2020.

Kejriwal was the outsider who was taking on the system. With its focus on governance and corruption, the AAP ate into the Congress vote bank and kept the BJP at bay despite the BJP sweeping the general elections in Delhi back in 2019.

Watch video summary of the op-ed by Nidhi Razdan

This election is different

AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal faces a number of questions on governance and his party’s anti corruption plank. He is no longer an outsider. Kejriwal and his top ministers have spent several months in jail in alleged money laundering cases.

While those cases have yet to be proved in court, and the BJP’s misuse of investigative agencies like the Enforcement Directorate or the ED against the opposition is fairly well documented, we will have to see how far these charges have dented the AAP’s image in the eyes of voters.

During the Lok Sabha polls last summer, Kejriwal was in jail and allowed by the Supreme Court to campaign for some weeks. It did not help. The AAP did not win a single Lok Sabha seat. Will it be the same in the assembly polls? Will the charge of vendetta work with voters?

The people of Delhi have also been exasperated with the frequent run ins between the elected government and the centre’s appointee, the Lieutenant Governor.

The tussle has made governance a big problem in Delhi and we can see that whether it is the collapse of civic infrastructure or the crippling air pollution. The AAP will be banking on its welfare schemes, especially for women, to see them through as well as progress made in government schools and mohalla clinics.

BJP: The only serious contender challenging AAP’s authority in Delhi is the BJP, but with no face to take on Kejriwal, the BJP is banking on Prime Minister Modi to see them through. This election is crucial for the party which has not been in power in Delhi for 25 years now. Despite that, the BJP’s vote share has not eroded in Delhi all these years.

Mr. Modi’s focus has been to discredit the AAP welfare models and to attack Kejriwal for his “lavish” home as Chief Minister which the BJP calls a “sheesh mahal”. This is to undermine Kejriwal’s image as an Aam Aadmi or common man. A win in Delhi for the BJP will be a further blow to the opposition ranks after Haryana and Maharashtra.

Congress: The party that once dominated the political landscape of Delhi is not a serious contender even this time. Ever since the AAP blew them away in 2013, the Congress has struggled to find its footing. Shelia Dikshit was Chief Minister for 15 years and is credited with changing the capital and improving the lives of its citizens through better infrastructure.

The dramatic collapse of the Congress in Delhi is clear through the numbers. In 1998, they secured a vote share of 47.76 per cent. In 2020, this plummeted to just 4.26 per cent. Like the BJP, the Congress does not have a credible face in Delhi. Only a hope and prayer can see them through.