The assembly elections in Delhi are approaching, and with this, all the political parties are disclosing the names of their candidates for the post of chief minister. Among all the parties, the main struggle will be among the Indian National Congress Congress (INC), the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and the new entrant, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Let us try to find out more about the candidates of these parties, who will fight for the position of Delhi’s chief minister in assembly elections on December 4, 2013.
The BJP has taken a long time in deciding their candidate, Dr. Harsh Vardhan. One major reason for this delay is that they needed a strong name who could stand and fight the AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal and the present CM from Congress, Sheila Dikshit (Congress has yet to declare the name of its candidate). Another reason is in-party squabbles. The present chief of BJP city unit, Vijay Goel, was opposed to Vardhan and said that he would step down from its present position if the latter was declared the candidate. But now he has given his consent. The Aam Aadmi Party, naturally, named Arvind Kejriwal for the elections.
It is believed that Delhi’s youth can now tilt the balance, as they comprise about one-third of the voter-base. The BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, has come out as a strong youth leader. This is one of the favoring points for the BJP. But some voters surely have their mind made up to vote for AAP to give them a chance; moreover, the party has the energy to match the energy of today’s youth. The present CM Sheila Dikshit, however, strongly believes that like the last three times, the Congress will win these elections.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP): The main selection criteria for the Aam Aadmi Party has been a contestant with clean image. The AAP spokesperson has said that Arvind Kejriwal will fight the election, but it is not clear from which constituency. The party has even invited nominations from the public. India Today recently conducted the C-Voter Opinion Poll, in which Arvind Kejriwal managed to get approval rating of 21%, although he is a debutant in this field. Even Sheila Dikshit has said that Arvind Kejriwal has drawn the attention of people.
Points favoring Arvind Kejriwal: First of all, he is an Indian social activist, which directly connects him with the common man. His main aim is to bring transparency in the system. Kejriwal is a recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Emergent Leadership in 2006 for his role in the Right to Information Act (RTI).
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP): The BJP has preferred Dr. Harsh Vardhan over Vijay Goel, the chief of city unit. The reason might be that Goel has not proved himself as a strong leader against the ruling Congress government in Delhi. Also, Vijay Goel has received just 12% approval rating in the C-Voter Opinion Poll by India Today.
Points against Vijay Goel: Goel was unable to prove himself as a strong leader. Moreover, it was felt that he had no connection with the party cadre. Many senior leaders of the BJP have shown concern over his style of working and leadership.
Points favoring Dr. Harsh Vardhan: It is believed that Vardhan has wider acceptability as a leader among the public as well as the party. He has experience working as the union minister for health, education, and law during the NDA’s term at the Centre, and has been elected an MLA four times. He is known for his commendable efforts to eradicate polio in Delhi during his tenure as health minister. To add to it, his style of functioning within party is highly respected.
Congress
The Congress party is yet to announce its candidate. The ahead, however, is tough. In a survey conducted by the Hindustan Times the readers were asked about how satisfied they were with CM Sheila Dikshit. 36% of the readers said they were not satisfied, 34% were satisfied, while 21% were highly dissatisfied. In another question regarding the cleanest government, 30% voted for Congress, 27% for BJP, 25% for AAP and 18% were unsure.
Soon Delhi is going to have its next chief minister. Whoever it may be, we want him or her to tackle the issues of rising price hike, corruption and crumbling infrastructure.
Who do you think will be the next chief minister of Delhi in the coming assembly polls on December 4, 2013?
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