Delhi is not a full-fledged state and its unique and convoluted governance design has often set the Centre and the state government on a collision course. It is therefore no surprise that the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections is set to be a bipolar contest between the incumbent Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Congress, once the most popular party in the national capital, is struggling to regain at least part of its lost prominence.
The AAP and the BJP have dominated the state’s arena since 2012. The voters in Delhi have since then swung overwhelmingly in favour of the AAP in assembly elections and the BJP in Lok Sabha elections. The AAP nurtures national ambitions and its chief, Arvind Kejriwal, once tried to fashion himself as a challenger to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In the run-up to the elections, the AAP has had its image of incorruptibility and of being a platform for the commoner severely stained by corruption allegations against Kejriwal and several of his colleagues. It is true that the Central investigative agencies are selective in their anti-corruption probe, but that does not absolve AAP of suspicion. The frequent run-ins with the Lieutenant Governor appointed by the Centre have made it difficult for the party to deliver on what it has promised, even as it makes a bid for a fourth term.
The BJP is pitching a double-engine government that will put an end to the tussle between the two powers that control Delhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is leading the charge, underlining how seriously the party takes the challenge. The party has not projected a chief ministerial candidate so far.
Opposition at a disadvantage
The election has brought up issues concerning the integrity of the election process itself. The AAP has submitted to the Election Commission that the names of bona fide voters are being removed from the electoral rolls. When announcing the elections, the Chief Election Commissioner sought to allay these fears, saying that deletion of names was not possible without adhering to strict protocols and that every party has the right to raise objections at various stages. In response, the BJP has said that the AAP is worried that illegal Rohingya and Bangladeshi immigrants who are benefiting from the party’s welfare schemes will be struck off the list.
The political discourse in Delhi is being dominated by conversations around ‘freebies’, overshadowing other major issues including pollution, law and order, crimes against women and infrastructure
The results, scheduled to be announced on 8 February, will also be a test of the strength, the strategies and the coherence of the parties that ranged against the BJP. The Opposition finds itself at a disadvantage. While the AAP and the Congress fought the Lok Sabha elections with a seat-sharing agreement as INDIA partners in an attempt to defeat the BJP, they are opposing each other in this fight. Some partners of INDIA alliance like the Trinamool Congress and the Samajwadi Party, which have minor pockets of influence in the national capital, are backing AAP.
Meanwhile, the political discourse in Delhi is being dominated by conversations around ‘freebies’, overshadowing other major issues including pollution, law and order, crimes against women and infrastructure. Kejriwal is going the extra mile even promising financial assistance to residential welfare associations to hire security guards when the party returns to power in the national capital.
Indeed, AAP is leading the charge on this front with its campaigns like revdi par charcha, emphasising its free electricity, water, healthcare, education and public transport initiatives for women. It has also announced new schemes, including the Mukhya Mantri Mahila Samman Yojana, promising R2,100 every month for women and the Sanjeevani Yojana, ensuring free healthcare for senior citizens in both government and private hospitals.
Congress has countered with its pyaari didi yojana, offering Rs2,500 every month for women, alongside the jeevan raksha yojana, which promises insurance coverage of up to Rs25 lakh. Meanwhile, the BJP is likely to unveil its manifesto soon, with anticipated schemes such as 300 units of free electricity for households and Rs2,500 per month allowances for women.
That freebies are here to stay became evident when even Modi, who termed these free schemes as revdis once, had to reassure the people of Delhi that the BJP would continue all the welfare schemes if voted to power.