While the three MlAs of the BJP have mustered courage to attend AAP convener and Delhi Chief Minister-designate Arvind Kejriwal’s swearing-in ceremony on Saturday, the State unit of the BJP, on the other hand, can be seen in deep introspection mode. On Friday, three days after its crushing debacle, the Delhi BJP held a review meeting in which they attributed their loss to late projection of Kiran Bedi as the CM nominee as well as excessive involvement of leaders from outside Delhi. The fact that grass root workers were shunted out demoralised the State cadre resulting in more grudges and less cooperation with the candidates, many of whom were “imported”. Besides, all district office bearers have been asked to submit a report on the drubbing.
The first review meeting saw many leaders accepting the fact that delay in announcement of candidates also scuppered the party’s prospects as they got very little time to prepare for the elections, whereas the AAP candidates pitched their campaign months ahead. Analysing their poll performance in the two-hour long meeting at the party headquarters, they felt that bringing in former IPS officer Bedi just three weeks before the elections was a “bad move”. Some of the leaders also felt that if the party had decided to bring in Bedi, she should have been fielded against Arvind Kejriwal from the New Delhi seat.
“Most leaders felt that bringing Bedi in just a few days before the poll was incorrect. If the party wanted to bring Bedi and make her fight polls, it should have done that much before the elections,” said a senior party leader. Asked about Bedi’s absence from the meeting, he said that all State party office bearers had been called to the meeting and, since Bedi was not one, she had not been invited to attend it.
The disappointment of the leaders could also be gauged by the fact that only 21 of the 36 invitees attended the meeting. “All BJP district office bearers have been asked to prepare a report on why the party failed to garner support among the people. At the meeting, most leaders also said that people in their constituencies had told them that they wanted to give AAP a chance to fulfil its promises and that is why they had voted for the Arvind Kejriwal-led party,” he added.