Delhi to see long campaign in 3-way fight
Alok KN Mishra, Atul Mathur | TNN | Updated: Mar 11, 2019, 08:15 IST
NEW DELHI: In battleground Delhi, the stage is all set for BJP, AAP and Congress to lock horns over the seven Lok Sabha seats where about 1.38 crore voters will exercise their franchise on May 12. While BJP will be looking to repeat its 2014 performance, when it won all seven seats by comfortable margins, the stakes are high for AAP, especially with the Delhi assembly elections to be held early next year. The outcome of the parliamentary elections can have a significant impact on its fortunes.
For Congress, which is desperate to make a comeback in Delhi’s electoral politics following a string of defeats in the assembly elections in 2013 and 2015 and Lok Sabha polls in 2014, this is going to be a do-or-die battle. The party does not have a single member in the Lok Sabha from Delhi and in the Delhi assembly.
AAP, which has not hidden its desperation to forge an alliance with Congress, fears that a triangular fight will divide the anti-BJP vote, putting the saffron party in an advantageous position. AAP and Congress rely largely on a common vote bank – minorities, unauthorized colonies and JJ clusters besides some other sections of society. It is the same vote bank that propelled AAP to power with an unprecedented mandate in 2015.
In the 2014 LS polls, when the Modi wave swept the country, AAP got 33.1% votes while Congress got 15.1%. Their combined vote share was two percentage points more than that of BJP. In the 2017 municipal polls, BJP managed to fight a strong anti-incumbency wave as the two parties contested separately. However, AAP’s 26% and Congress’ 21% taken together was much higher than the BJP’s 37% votes. While AAP’s vote share has only reduced in the elections held since 2015, Congress’ share has been steadily growing, making the former more desperate for an alliance.
Congress has rejected AAP’s offers to forge a pre-poll alliance to defeat BJP in the capital. The party is buoyed by two factors — its recent victory in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and the return of former chief minister Sheila Dikshit as president of the party’s Delhi unit. Its local unit believes tying up with AAP will only pull down its profile and come in the way of making a serious bid for power in the assembly elections a year later. The party is also not willing to strike a deal on Punjab and Haryana which AAP has been eyeing.
The long run-up to polling, however, has given enough time to the two parties to mull over the possibility of an alliance. There are recurring reports that the leadership of the two parties are still engaged in talks, making the workers and ticket aspirants anxious. The meeting on Saturday between Dikshit and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi has sparked fresh speculation. “Though we had conveyed our stance to the party president on Saturday, it is finally the Congress Working Committee which will take the final call and every leader will have to accept it. In fact, some of those who spoke against the alliance at the meeting with Rahul Gandhi last week have also started to see its benefits and conveyed the same to the party leadership” said a senior party leader requesting anonymity.
BJP, however, is trying to make the most of the confusion. A senior BJP leader has put up hoardings in some parts of the city with photographs of Kejriwal and Rahul Gandhi and the message that “the greed of power is keeping them united”. Longer the speculation persists, happier the BJP would be.
The long election has given BJP and Congress more time to announce its candidates. AAP was off the blocks quite early by announcing the name of six candidates. On the flip side, the parties are worried that the long drawn out campaign, with temperatures rising, could sap the energy of candidates and workers alike and drain their funds.
For Congress, which is desperate to make a comeback in Delhi’s electoral politics following a string of defeats in the assembly elections in 2013 and 2015 and Lok Sabha polls in 2014, this is going to be a do-or-die battle. The party does not have a single member in the Lok Sabha from Delhi and in the Delhi assembly.
AAP, which has not hidden its desperation to forge an alliance with Congress, fears that a triangular fight will divide the anti-BJP vote, putting the saffron party in an advantageous position. AAP and Congress rely largely on a common vote bank – minorities, unauthorized colonies and JJ clusters besides some other sections of society. It is the same vote bank that propelled AAP to power with an unprecedented mandate in 2015.
In the 2014 LS polls, when the Modi wave swept the country, AAP got 33.1% votes while Congress got 15.1%. Their combined vote share was two percentage points more than that of BJP. In the 2017 municipal polls, BJP managed to fight a strong anti-incumbency wave as the two parties contested separately. However, AAP’s 26% and Congress’ 21% taken together was much higher than the BJP’s 37% votes. While AAP’s vote share has only reduced in the elections held since 2015, Congress’ share has been steadily growing, making the former more desperate for an alliance.
Congress has rejected AAP’s offers to forge a pre-poll alliance to defeat BJP in the capital. The party is buoyed by two factors — its recent victory in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and the return of former chief minister Sheila Dikshit as president of the party’s Delhi unit. Its local unit believes tying up with AAP will only pull down its profile and come in the way of making a serious bid for power in the assembly elections a year later. The party is also not willing to strike a deal on Punjab and Haryana which AAP has been eyeing.
The long run-up to polling, however, has given enough time to the two parties to mull over the possibility of an alliance. There are recurring reports that the leadership of the two parties are still engaged in talks, making the workers and ticket aspirants anxious. The meeting on Saturday between Dikshit and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi has sparked fresh speculation. “Though we had conveyed our stance to the party president on Saturday, it is finally the Congress Working Committee which will take the final call and every leader will have to accept it. In fact, some of those who spoke against the alliance at the meeting with Rahul Gandhi last week have also started to see its benefits and conveyed the same to the party leadership” said a senior party leader requesting anonymity.
BJP, however, is trying to make the most of the confusion. A senior BJP leader has put up hoardings in some parts of the city with photographs of Kejriwal and Rahul Gandhi and the message that “the greed of power is keeping them united”. Longer the speculation persists, happier the BJP would be.
The long election has given BJP and Congress more time to announce its candidates. AAP was off the blocks quite early by announcing the name of six candidates. On the flip side, the parties are worried that the long drawn out campaign, with temperatures rising, could sap the energy of candidates and workers alike and drain their funds.
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