So Far wind is not in favor of any party
(Anita Saluja)
After Haryana and Maharashtra elections comes the Delhi Assembly polls on February 5, where again surprises are expected, with the people caught up in the triangular contest among the AAP, BJP and the Congress candidates. Though the latter is not expected to do wonders, it will surely cut into the votes of AAP candidates, thus making it easy for the BJP. So far, wind is not blowing in favor of any of the three parties, as the Delhiites are fed up with the allegations and counter-allegations of the candidates.
For the AAP, it is a do-or-die battle, as Delhi happens to be their bastion from where they initiated their political journey, spreading their tentacles to Punjab and making themselves visible in Gujarat and Goa. It’s a long-drawn journey for Kejriwal, who is daydreaming of occupying the topmost position at the Centre in the near future.
The BJP has succeeded to put impediments in his path by ensuring that his image is sullied to such an extent that no one trusts him. The Aam Aadmi Party had trounced the Congress in 2013 by declaring that it was the party of the Commoners, who were keen to give clean administration and set an example for the Delhiites by living a simple & decent life. On both these crucial fronts, they have failed to win the trust of the people. It was only in the initial years, what many people call, a political stunt, when one saw the then Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal boarding a Metro for his office or driving a Maruti car.
Now, he is being accused of living in Sheesh Mahal having spent Rs 75 to 80 crores on his Chief Minister’s residence. Besides, he and his battery of Cabinet colleagues, including Satyendra Jain, Manish Sisodia and others were put behind bars for the alleged liquor scam where KCR’s daughter Kavita was also in cahoots with the AAP leaders.
What goes in Favour of the AAP is the rolling out of freebies that provided some succor to the deprived in the past years. Announcements on reduction of power tariffs to almost nil, improvement in the quality of education and the setting-up of Mohalla clinics that brought succor to the sick people cannot be easily washed away by the Delhiites. Those who criticized these policies of the Kejriwal Government are now emulating them by declaring the same, though the middle-class are worried about the taxes going up. What every citizen is looking for is the building of infrastructure, pucca roads, clean water and pure air. None of the three parties are promising the basic amenities, except the competition taking place of distributing sops to the poor, women and seniors. The Netas, obviously are alluring the deprived to cast their franchise in their favor.
The contenders to the Delhi throne have been busy in the last five years running down each other. Instead of coming together and finding solutions to the toxic air with the AQI touching 400 PM, they were engaged in mud-slinging. Each of these parties, specially BJP and the AAP, are to be blamed for failing to give clean air to the people forcing many to search for safer abodes outside the capital.
Instead of concentrating on damaging the image of the AAP, it would have been much better if the BJP at the Centre could have initiated measures to clean the polluted air. A positive attitude impresses the people more than winning an argument against your opponent. The tag of “Party with a Difference,” is no longer relevant to the BJP. It’s no secret that the Modi Government at the Centre did not give a free hand to the AAP Government to work In Delhi. Bringing a legislation to bestow full powers to the Lieutenant- Governor tied the hands of the Delhi Government, who were not even allowed to appoint their own officers. Every now & then, they had to go to court to get justice. The three parties are the same, which are indulging in blame-game rhetoric, forcing some voters to opt for NOTA (none of the above) option.
The BJP is faceless, as no one has any clue about their Chief Ministerial candidate, the AAP’s image is completely tarnished, while the Congress is contesting half-heartedly. Given this scenario, the Delhites are perplexed and cynical about their future.
The lackadaisical attitude of the Congress in facing the electorate will hardly make them win the hearts of the voters. When they themselves are unsure about their win, how will they convince the voter? Senior leaders of the Congress are contesting their own battle getting little support from the High Command. Instead of imitating the BJP in constructing a huge party office, the Congress should learn the art of winning elections from them. It should activate its election machinery 24/7 and assign the party workers in specific constituencies. They are contesting elections sans money power, muscle power and without the full support of their senior leaders, who are absent from the battlefield.
It’s high time that the Congress learns the calibre in pulling out the voters from their homes to the polling booths. However, there are interesting triangular fights in some constituencies like Kalkaji where Delhi Chief Minister Atishi, BJP candidate Ramesh Bidhuri and Mahila Congress President Alka Lamba are contesting. Similarly, in the New Delhi seat, where former Congress Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit’s son Sandeep Dikshit, former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and former BJP Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma’s son Parvesh Verma are at loggerheads. Here, the candidates of all the three parties are strong enough to contest their lone battles. This time, the Congress does have the chance to improve its vote percentage though whether it will translate into votes seems a distant reality.
Both AAP and BJP are burning the midnight oil to ensure the defeat of their rival at the hustings. While all the big leaders of the AAP are themselves busy fighting their own elections, the entire BJP Cabinet at the Centre is sweating it out to ensure the victory of each of the 70 candidates. Besides UP Chief Minister Adityanath Yogi, along with other State Chief Ministers from Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttarakhand and Haryana, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also joined the campaign in making it sure that no opportunity is missed to embarrass Kejriwal and his team.
Are the voters rejecting the Aam Aadmi Party after their leaders were convicted on corruption charges? Not exactly, as corruption and misdeeds, allegations and counter-allegations are not the issues that dominate the minds of the Delhiites. They want basic amenities which none of the three political parties are promising to provide. The outcome, therefore, is unpredictable, with the cynical minds voting to express their discontent for a particular party rather than endorsing an ideology of a party.
(Writer is a Delhi-based Senior Journalist. Views are personal.)
