Three leading political parties BJP, AAP and Congress are gearing up for a ferocious battle in the upcoming February 8 Delhi assembly polls. They are busy in finalising their candidates, so the political dust has been clearing up in the national capital, which will settle down on February 11 on the day of results.
Political activity awakens Delhi
Volunteers and local level leaders are working overtime in sticking posters, erecting banners and engaging in social work to win the heart of the voters. On the other hand, ticket seekers sped up their activity, running from pillar to post with all their gadgets to satisfy their political peers. Besides, this list of star campaigners is also being finalised.
Election plan in full swing
Senior leaders are making poll strategies, advising their budding politicians on how to cope with the situation, what to speak, how to deal with the people to lure them. So, late-night discussions in this chilling weather and the incessant visits of media persons in party offices have filled the atmosphere with excitement. Tea and coffee are being served frequently to beat the cold and hot up the mood.
Voters satisfied with Kejriwal’s govt
The mood of the Delhi voters is not certain as their frame of mind swing like a pendulum from one end to another. So, suspense remains intact until the last moment. As per the survey report of Maps of India and Lokniti-CSDS, there is a high level of satisfaction among the people of Delhi with regards to the work of Arvind Kejriwal’s government.
The survey report reveals that 86 per cent of Delhites are either fully satisfied or somewhat happy with the governance of Arvind Kejriwal. Some of the welfare schemes like free water charge, low price of electricity, implementation of mohalla clinic, free bus ride for women, improvement in school infrastructure, the abundance of street lights in colonies and so on have tilted the people’s mindset in favour of the ruling party in Delhi.
Not a cakewalk for AAP
Despite the positive response, it would not be a cakewalk for Kejriwal and his troops as AAP performed miserably in the Lok Sabha elections in May last year. Its vote share had dropped drastically. The BJP bagged all the seven seats in the Lok Sabha which left their opponents into disarray.
Door-to-door campaign
The Aam Aadmi Party is looking optimistic and fully ready to take on their political nemesis for the forthcoming Delhi polls. The party has been planning to go for small mohalla meetings and door-to-door campaign to tell the people to rate AAP’s performance. The party workers are stressing on AAP’s development work.
Kejriwal and his men are not in favour of holding massive public meetings, which need manpower as well as monetary resources. So, it has stressed on holding small meetings at different localities. This move proved fruitful for the AAP winning 28 seats in 2013 and bagged 67 seats in 2015 polls.
BJP needs to change strategy
The saffron party has to be careful in the Delhi assembly election. As common core issues seldom work, local affairs instead always dominate in the state election. In the recently held elections in Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand, after the 2019 general elections, the BJP saw a sharp decline in its vote share in such states. The top brass of the party including prime minister Narendra Modi’s campaign failed to capitalise the situation. In Jharkhand, the party had to satisfy with the second position behind Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM).
It seems the saffron party has taken a leaf out of the book of AAP and decided to give more importance to mohalla meetings and door-to-door campaigns. Earlier, BJP used to hold massive public rallies, erecting large-size banners and posters. The debacle in Jharkhand and other states last year has opened the eyes of the party.
Congress looks to make amends
The Congress is creeping to make up ground. The grand old party may shake hands with AAP before or after the polls. This time the Delhi Congress has established a poll “war room” at the party office on DDU Marg. The objective behind this war room is to provide support to party candidates; volunteers are preparing to go door-to-door to make contact with party workers and leaders in all the constituencies. Congress party has to keep its point firmly to woo the voters. The party failed to open its account in the 2015 assembly and 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Although the party’s partially satisfactory performance in Jharkhand has raised the hope for its workers.
It appears that a fierce battle is on the card in the upcoming Delhi polls. The AAP is preparing to go all out to win the confidence of the voters in Delhi. The field is wide open for the triangular contest with plenty of time left to finalise the poll strategy. But in Delhi, the real fight is between the prime minister Narendra Modi and chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. Will Modi’s magic work over Kejriwal’s governance? Wait for the answers on February 11.
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