The Bharatiya Janata Party is making a comeback in Delhi after more than two decades. The BJP went on to defeat the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which had won the polls in 2015 and 2020.
Just an hour into counting it had become clear that the BJP was the main opposition for two terms was way ahead of the halfway mark. There are several factors which led to the defeat of AAP which had managed to win the previous two elections largely due to the freebies it had offered.
Some of the key factors that could be attributed to the AAP’s loss in Delhi is corruption and arrogance. While the freebies kept the AAP afloat, there were many other factors that contributed to its defeat this time. Over a period of time the AAP did not fulfil promises. The people were bothered a lot by the issue of air pollution. The AAP continued to blame the Centre and said that it was creating roadblocks in the functioning of the Delhi government. However, the people of Delhi were fed up with these allegations and viewed them as excuses not to do work. The people of Delhi were also convinced that they need a double-engine government of the BJP and this promise by the party worked.
The frustration of the people of Delhi and how unhappy with the performance could be seen in the defeat of the AAP’s two tallest leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia.
Arrogance and corruption
In the case of AAP, it was power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. The renovation of the Chief Minister’s residence had become a major issue ahead of the elections. People viewed this as a brazen display of arrogance and felt that the actions by Arvind Kejriwal was anything but that of an Aam Aadmi.
The BJP referred to the renovated residence as ‘Sheesh Mahal,’ and adding ammunition to the allegation was a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. The probe found that the preliminary estimate for the renovation was Rs 7.91 crore. This had gone up to Rs 8.62 crore in 2020 when the work was awarded. However, by 2022 by the time the job was complete the renovation cost shot up to Rs 33.6 crore.
This had become a major issue, and it resonated with the voters since they felt that the AAP was not living up to its promise of clean politics. Further it defeated Kejriwal’s vow to wipe out VIP culture.
Analysts feel that such actions were viewed as arrogant by the voters. Probably the AAP had become overconfident and felt that it could ride on its promise of freebies like it did in the last elections. The freebie promise worked for it in Punjab as well. This probably may have made the party overconfident and eventually arrogant.
Another issue that hit the party hard was the liquor policy which was mired in corruption. The policy was however scrapped after allegations of corruption cropped up. The AAP was accused of turning Delhi into a city of drunkards after the policy brought a buy one get one free offer on liquor.
Since the outbreak of the case, governance in Delhi took a major hit. Probes by the agencies led to the arrests of Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh. The arrests of a chief minister and deputy chief minister does not bode well. Further there was a power tussle and eventually the party selected Atishi as the chief minister. She however remained a puppet and took instructions from Kejriwal and this did not go down well with the public.
All play and no work
The people of Delhi were also fed up with the conditions of the roads and sewers in the city. This contributed massively to the unpopularity of the party. Pothole ridden roads, overflowing drains and irregular garbage collection were all factors that angered the voters.
Instead of working on these issues, the AAP remained in confrontation mode and blamed the BJP for stalling work. However, the people could see through this as the AAP is in power in the MCD. This meant that it could not pass the buck to the BJP.
The AAP was always in the news for its tussle with the LG. The people were fed up of this and felt that this was leading nowhere. The voters want smooth governance and results and hence felt that a BJP government in power would ensure this.
The AAP during its campaign had said that if the BJP comes to power, it will withdraw all the welfare schemes that it had introduced. The BJP however managed to combat this election. The BJP campaign led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi ran a message all through the campaign that the welfare schemes would continue and there would be no stoppage of that.
