Delhi: Assembly elections
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2013-14
See graphic (right)
Delhi cantonment board elections: 2015
Jan 13 2015
Risha Chitlangia
BJP's strong performance in the Delhi Cantonment Board poll and a sharp decline in Aam Aadmi Party votes is a morale booster for the party ahead of the much more challenging task of winning the assembly polls scheduled for February 7. With BJP-backed candidates winning five out of eight wards, the party is keen to read the result as an indication of polls winds in the capital with Prime Minister Narendra Modi having launched the saffron campaign with a rally on Saturday , a day before polling for the cantonment board.
Though the board election is modest in terms of the electorate and BJP won a seat less than earlier, there are reasons for satisfaction. AAP's failure to revive its fortunes after scoring a blank in the LS election and Congress's relatively better performance plays to BJP's advantage.
The increase in Congress's vote share comes at AAP's expense and the trend augurs well for BJP that would prefer a three-way fight in assembly polls rather than a more direct one-to-one face off with AAP and its convenor Arvind Kejriwal.
The results also indicate that the party continues to en joy middle class support-the can tonment area has a sizable population of this segment while Congress neutralized AAP's impact with Kejriwal's outfit registering a 15% dip in its votes, down to 25% from 40% in the assembly elections. “This has once again proved that BJP is the first choice of Delhiites. The voters of the cantonment board have shown that they do not believe in fractured mandate,“ said Satish Upadhyay , Delhi BJP chief. Though BJP had staged a recovery in the LS election, the results were read as the result of a Modi wave and the party was aware that in 2013 AAP's commando Surender Singh defeated four-time BJP strongman Karan Singh Tanwar by 300-odd votes. AAP finished third in four wards and most of its candidates lost by a large margin.
With the party having tak en a calculated gamble in not projecting a CM candidate in a highly urbanized state, evidence that Modi's appeal with the middle class and “urban“ villages has not waned will increase the confidence levels in the BJP and embolden party chief Amit Shah to adopt a tough yardstick in selecting Assembly candidates.
Despite being routed by AAP and BJP in 2013, Congress managed to retain two wards and pushed AAP to third position. This helps Congress argue that it is the alternate to BJP and that AAP is fading. Congress has got 10,048 votes to AAP's 8,442 votes but the difference helped Congress climb the rankings. BJP, which lost in three wards, finished second in two.
AAP finished third in four wards and most of its candidates lost by a large margin.But AAP members do not see this as reflecting the broader mood in the city . “This doesn't reflect the public mood. This is a small area. Moreover, we are contesting for the first time. We have managed to win in BJP's stronghold,“ said Surender Singh.
The result has revived Congress' hope that it will not be washed out again. “The gap in the vote share between BJP and AAP, and Congress emerging as second shows the ground situation is changing.It is not a two-way contest,“ said Arvinder Singh, DPCC chief.
2015: The campaign
Delhi assembly elections 2015: An acerbic campaign where no one was spared
PTI | Feb 6, 2015 PTI
A look-back at the Delhi poll campaign reflects how the war of words among different contestants and parties unfolded one of the fiercest and bitter election narratives of recent times.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi set the tone for the election battle by making a veiled reference to Arvind Kejriwal as an "anarchist" in the first BJP rally at Ramlila Maidan.
"We need development here, not anarchy. They are good at dharnas. We are good at running government," the Prime Minister said.
After Kiran Bedi decided to make her political debut by joining the BJP, Congress came down hard on her terming it as "gross political opportunism".
Arvind Kejriwal welcomed his former comrades in arms with a politically correct tweet saying "I have been fond of Kiran Bediji. I always tried to convince her that she should join politics. I am happy she did it today".
However, the AAP niceties disappeared as soon as Shazia Ilmi followed Bedi and the verbal slugfest broke loose.
Ashutosh called Bedi's move of joining BJP as an "iconic political somersault and opportunism on her behalf".
The party dug out old tweets of both the former India Against Corruption members, the ones in which they had previously criticized Narendra Modi.
"One day, Namo (Narendra Modi) will have to respond with clarity about riot massacre," a tweet posted by Bedi on March 16, 2013.
AAP went on to say that Bedi was "parachuted" into BJP which can make her a "scapegoat" in case the party lost the elections.
"Bedi is a scapegoat ... Vijay Goel, Satish Upadhyay, Harsh Vardhan are plotting against her," Kejriwal said.
Kiran Bedi hit out at Kejriwal terming him as a "toxic" influence and his twitter account "polluting".
"His company is toxic. I felt it to an extent even when I was with him, but we had a common goal that the country must rid itself of scams and corruption," Bedi said.
In a tweet, she said, "I blocked him (Kejriwal) 15 months back when he called himself an anarchist. He was spreading negativity. Didn't want my four million followers to see negativity ... it was a polluting account".
As the controversy surrounding AAP's election funding erupted, a new saga of mudslinging was witnessed.
Shazia Ilmi dubbed the Rs 2 crore donation to the Aam Admi Party as "hawala at midnight".
"They talk about an internal Lokpal. But no one worries of checking donations of Rs 2 crore. Kejriwal is hiding behind a false image of honesty and trying to fool people," Ilmi said.
Amit Shah also attacked AAP extensively on the controversy at the election rallies with catchy alliteration.
"Kali raat me kala dhan lene wali party kali rajneeti hi kar sakti hai (Party which takes black money in the darkness of the night can only indulge in black politics)," Shah said at a rally on February 4.
A day later at another rally, he said, "Kali raat me aane wala dhan kala dhan hi hota hai (money which comes in the dark of the night is black money)".
Miffed at not getting an invitation to watch the Republic Day parade, Kejriwal also created a furore and Bedi came down heavily on the AAP chief.
"I think he is playing sob sob. I think he must grow up. Invitations come not when you desire. They come by something else but they are never demanded, they come by rules and regulations, by protocols whatever it is," Bedi said. AAP accused that the cameras were focusing a little more on Bedi who was seated in the front rows watching the parade.
"It is for the country to see what is being done. How a sacred occasion like the Republic Day is being politicized. the camera was focusing a little extra on her," senior AAP leader Yogendra Yadav said.
The Prime Minister switched into election gear after hosting President Obama on Republic Day and accused AAP of "backstabbing" Delhi voters.
"The very people whom you voted for last time stabbed in your back. They shattered your dreams and destroyed Delhi. You gave them a befitting punishment in Lok Sabha polls. People do not repeat their mistakes again and again," Modi said at an election rally.
