On the last day of campaigning for Delhi Assembly polls, major parties pulled out all stops to reach maximum number of voters in the remotest locations of the Capital. Concluding electioneering on Monday, leaders of three parties — Congress, BJP and AAP — claimed victory in the December 4 polls. While the top leadership of BJP said the dual anti-incumbency against Congress-led Delhi Government would result in BJP’s victory, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit claimed the development work undertaken by her Government in the last 15 years would ensure fourth successive win of the Congress. The AAP, on the other hand, exuded confidence that promising people a corruption-free Government would pave its way to power in the State. However, amidst all claims, the blame-game too continued unabated. While Congress accused the BJP of indulging in divisive politics, the BJP retorted calling Congress the most corrupt party. The BJP and Congress also took a swipe at neophyte AAP calling them opportunist while it hit back saying the Congress and BJP had piled on the miseries on the common people
Way ahead of rivals, claims BJP
Elated with massive public support during campaigning, the BJP on Monday claimed it was “way ahead of its rivals” — the Congress and AAP — and that it would form the next Government in Delhi. Concluding the fortnight long hectic electioneering, the BJP leaders said there is a strong anti-incumbency against the Congress and dismissed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as one which is visible in the media but lacks support on the ground.
“There is a strong sentiment in Delhi for change. The anti-incumbency is so strong here that it would be very difficult for the Congress to sustain itself,” said Arun Jaitley, leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha. Jaitley maintained that the AAP will not win any seats.
His lok Sabha counterpart — Sushma Swaraj — echoed these views, saying there is double anti-incumbency against the Congress — both at the Centre and in Delhi.
Pointing out the absence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi from the campaign, Jaitley said the real defeat for a party is when it stops making an effort to win. “In the last two weeks, the top leadership of the Congress has abandoned it,” he said.
The BJP dismissed the AAP saying the party is daydreaming and this dream will be broken on December 4.
“The AAP has been making claims about seats and votes. I want to say with a sense of responsibility that people do not want to waste their votes. Our experience shows that when a person wants to throw out a party (Congress) he does not want to waste his vote. People see the BJP as an alternative,” said Swaraj.
Asked about Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit’s charge that the BJP is responsible for the recent Muzaffarnagar riots, Swaraj said, “Does she not remember the 1984 (anti-Sikh) riots when she says the Congress is not involved in riotsIJ It seems she has forgotten 1984.”
75 years old, 52 public meetings, 47 constituencies
As campaigning ended for the Delhi Assembly elections on Monday, the Congress led by Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit made a last-minute scramble to grab more voters’ attention. She addressed six public meetings in six Assembly constituencies — Mehrauli, Chhatarpur, Dwarka, Sangam Vihar and Malviya Nagar — before the electioneering came to a halt. With her whirlwind campaign all over the Capital, energetic Dikshit has managed to surprise her party leaders too. The 75-year-old leader addressed over 52 public meetings in the past few days and covered almost all the 47 constituencies.
Dikshit addressed six public meetings on Monday, while she addressed five such meetings on Sunday. Besides, she had also undertaken over a dozen padyatras in several Assembly constituencies, including her New Delhi constituency. As it was the last day of campaigning, there was a visible spark in the canvassing by Congress nominees. With dhol and scores of supporters and party workers, they initiated their programme early in the morning.
After addressing people in different localities, Dikshit addressed a Press conference. On the occasion, she took on BJP PM candidate Narendra Modi for his comments against her in rallies over the weekend. “This man lectures the PM saying adopt the Gujarat model. What progress are they talking aboutIJ” she questioned.
lambasting the Gujarat Chief Minister for accusing her administration as bad to worse, Dikshit said that if her Government was so bad, she would not have been in power for the last 15 years in Delhi. She claimed that the over all growth of Delhi is much more than Gujarat’s, which is often touted as the best model of development by the BJP. “They say Delhi has been mal-administered. The gentleman says we’ve done nothing here. look at these figures,” Dikshit said as she flashed figures of different parameters comparing Delhi with Gujarat before the media.
The confident Congress leader further said, “The person (Modi) advises the Prime Minister to adopt the Gujarat model of development. We are ahead of that state,” Dikshit said. Modi had severely attacked the Delhi Chief Minister during his rallies in the last few days, accusing her of having failed to address any of the major challenges, including scarcity of water in the last 15 years. “We have changed the face of Delhi. People who want to have a comfortable life come to Delhi. The youths who were small children in 1998 will not realise the transformation. They have not witnessed the BJP’s rule,” Dikshit added.