BJP's Delhi win will send a message to Gujarat, Himachal

The emphatic victory in all three municipal corporations in Delhi will enthuse the party to keep its winning trajectory for the next polls, reports Sahil Makkar.

The Bharatiya Janata Party scored an emphatic victory in all the three municipal corporations in Delhi, despite allegations of corruption and dismal performance, as well as strong anti-incumbency.

Of the 270 seats in the east, south and north municipalities, the BJP won 181 -- the highest since the civic body was trifurcated in 2012. In the election that year, the BJP had won 138 seats of the 272 that went to polls.

The Aam Aadmi Party, which for the first time contested all the seats, finished second with 48. The Congress, which has suffered massive electoral losses across the country since the 2014 general election, was further decimated. Its tally came down to 30 seats, from 77.

There are at least two ways in which the election results can be inferred. First, Delhi voters ignored the dismal performance of sitting councillors despite a record outbreak of dengue and chikungunya in the national capital last year.

People voted for the BJP ostensibly because of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s growing popularity and party president Amit Shah’s personal handling of the elections.

Shah repeated the Gujarat style in Delhi by replacing all the sitting councillors and quelled internal feuds among leaders. The BJP extensively used its star campaigners and focused on the city’s large migrant population.

“Much credit goes to the BJP’s senior leadership,” said Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken after the results. The Congress had failed to get its seniors, including former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, to canvass.

The second reason for the BJP’s victory could be voters’ growing disenchantment with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP, which had won 67 of 70 seats in the 2015 assembly election. This could have been because of Kejriwal’s incessant attacks and personal jibes against Modi. Kejriwal’s government was also constantly engaged in confrontation with the Centre on various issues.

“Kejriwal was only criticising Modi. It is time the AAP does some introspection,” said Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari.

It is believed that the AAP’s recent failure to capture Punjab and Goa in assembly elections has changed peoples’ perception about the party as a strong alternative to the BJP and Congress.

Though the AAP’s policies to regulate school fees and reduce power rates helped it to win 48 seats, promises such as waiving property tax didn’t cut much ice.

The AAP, however, was reluctant to accept the mandate. “The result is unbelievable. Without tampering of electronic voting machines, the BJP cannot win so many seats. They have given dengue, chikungunya and garbage to the city,” said Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia. “We will analyse the reasons behind our defeat.”

The biggest challenge for the AAP would be to keep its flock together and avoid early assembly elections.

AAP legislator from Bawana Ved Parkash, who recently quit the party to join the BJP, claimed 35 legislators are ready to switch to the BJP. Besides, 21 AAP members of legislative assembly are facing a disqualification threat for allegedly violating ‘office of profit rules’.

The victory would enthuse the BJP to keep up its winning trajectory for the next assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.

Elections are also due in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura. Odisha assembly elections are due in 2019. The BJP is expected to face opposition from the Congress in Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Karnataka and Chhattisgarh.