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It’s game time, yet again for the powerful national capital. Much has changed in the country since the last time elections were held here. We have a strong new BJP led government at the centre, which has weakened but united the entire opposition in the country with parties like the PDP and NC thinking of a tie- up and Lalu, Nitish and Mulayam making a joint front.
Wait, what? The Congress’ numbers have dropped further and Arvind Kejriwal tries to woo his lost voters back. The BJP is leaving no stone unturned to tarnish his reputation further by calling him a runner who left the city languishing under no democracy.
The BJP has continued its high from the general election with a great performance in other states. Narendra Modi has been travelling around the world. His persona along with correct media and PR machinery, has kept him in the news more often than not. Credit has to be given to the Modi led government for hosting a fantastic Republic Day with Obama as chief guest. Moreover it’s also a message and a diplomatic coup against Pakistan. But one gets a sense, that this was strategically planned before the Delhi elections to woo the voter.
However, with the highs there are also lows like the party’s credibility going down with the recent conversion row , the talk of a statue for Nathuram Godse by the VHP fueled further by the comment “will remove Islam and Christianity from the country’ by its chief Mohan Bhagwat. HRD minister Smriti Irani’s regressive steps in education have not helped their cause either.
Says a young professional working for a technology company “ the whole country voted for change and prosperity, but the BJP seems to be regressing the country with caste politics and division, I will vote for AAP”.
Therefore , will we end up asking ourselves “did we vote for development or Hindutva?”.
At the second place , the congress party has been replaced by Arvind Kejriwal who himself has lost massive credibility among the Delhi voter but has still managed to keep himself in the limelight. Whilst it is true that Arvind Kejriwal may have made the biggest blunder of his life by abandoning the Capital after only 49 days of governance. He left us asking “did we vote for prosperity or another political absconder’?
But even with these shortcomings , Arvind Kejriwal did manage to bring corruption down along with electricity and water bills, bribes were beginning to get refused and there was a general sense of positivity. The BJP is running a direct attack at him by having termed him as ‘bhagdoda (absconder)’ and there are tireless campaigns against him on the radio , tv etc.
The Congress party seems to have accepted its fate for the moment but is still trying desperately for an image makeover. However there are voices of dissent within the party after the sitting DPCC president Arvinder Singh Lovely was overlooked after Ajay Maken was declared the face of the party for the upcoming election. I also get a feeling that the few seats the Congress will manage to secure might play a crucial role in the government formation.
The BJP has recently played a game changer ahead of republic day by announcing Kiran Bedi as its chief ministerial candidate. Given her credentials, she is a perceived as a good, honest and tough choice. She broke Kejriwal’s momentum and tide which was turning in his favour.
Even though Kiran Bedi has slowly become the butt off all internet jokes due to her daily bloopers which started with her almost running away from ‘The Newshour’. She still manages to connect with the urban educated and woman voters. I personally feel her political immaturity has in some sense backfired on the BJP.
So, we all have to wait and watch whether the electorate of the national capital will give Arvind Kejriwal another chance. He did run away but he does come across as honest. Or will they vote for Kiran Bedi- who is an honest ex cop but seems to be completely lost and unaware in the high-octane politics of Delhi.
One thing is for sure, this election will be superbly exciting especially for a political junkie.
