How BJP won another local body poll

Some analysts on Wednesday appeared categorical in stating that AAP and Arvind Kejriwal had lost the MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) election the day they allowed it to be projected as a Modi versus Kejriwal electoral battle. “Though it was a local body election, it became a Kejriwal versus Modi slugfest,” said a perceptive commentator.

This strategic mistake on the part of AAP helped BJP overcome anti-incumbency of over 10 years during which the party has controlled MCD. While Kejriwal and AAP failed to drive home the pathetic performance of the MCD under BJP, which in fact propelled BJP to drop all the sitting councillors, it was the BJP which succeeded in winning the perception war and create the impression that Kejriwal was always passing the buck to others for his own mistakes.

While BJP supporters were asked not to ‘celebrate’ in view of the high casualty of CRPF jawans in a Maoist ambush in Chhattisgarh, an elated BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain tweeted:

Kejriwal was at the receiving end of BJP supporters, who had a field day mocking at him on Twitter as the following tweet bears out:

By dropping all the sitting councillors, BJP appeared to have washed the slate clean. The decision was seen as a sincere attempt by the BJP to fight corruption and inefficiency. Its decision to field lesser known and younger candidates also went down well with the people, leading them to believe that BJP was serious about its desire to connect with the youth. Unlike in municipal elections, voters did not seem much bothered about candidates.

In hindsight, analysts said that by making Ajay Maken the face of the Congress in the MCD poll, Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi miffed the old guard. Former health minister AK Walia quit the party, senior leader Ram Kumar Chauhan did not campaign, former education minister Arvinder Singh Lovely joined the BJP and former chief minister Sheila Dikshit openly criticised the choice of Maken and blamed him after the poll debacle.

The Swaraj Party of Yogendra Yadav is accused of eating into the votes of AAP. Several AAP leaders privately – and bitterly – blamed Yadav and his party for acting as the ‘B’ team of the BJP.

Auto drivers of Delhi, who had enthusiastically voted for AAP in the Assembly election, seemed to have drifted away, alleging betrayal. Accusing AAP of not fulfilling the poll promise of increasing fare and his inability to protect them from police harassment, they also accused AAP of irregularities in the distribution of 50,000 new licences of autorickshaws.

Kejriwal and AAP, however, were dogged about the “EVM wave” having won the election for the BJP, criticising the Election Commission for its inability to ensure fair poll.

The allegation, predictably, did not cut any ice even as some experts explained how the changed demographics of the capital city, with a large number of migrants from UP and Bihar, may have helped the BJP. The delimitation of wards may also have helped BJP, a few of them felt.