Broom clean-sweeps in worst drubbing for BJP
The writing was on the wall after the exit polls forecast, but even the wisest of poll pundits or psychologists did not see the arrival of the hurricane that swept Delhi on Tuesday morning, giving Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) a landslide victory, wiping out the Congress, and leaving only the traces to the battered and bruised BJP.
Within an hour of the counting, trends made it clear that the AAP was headed for a landslide victory, but even then few expected that the BJP would not gain even seven seats to make a claim for the post of the leader of Opposition in the Assembly. The party that had taken repeated jibes at the Congress over its drubbing in the lok Sabha polls faced a much worse mortification at the hands of Kejriwal-led party.
The AAP bagged nearly 96 per cent of the seats in the Assembly. While the AAP won 67 seats, the BJP was left with just three seats, and the Congress with none. The BJP, which until three weeks ago was certain of getting two-thirds majority in the Assembly, was swept by the “AAP tsunami” even in its strongholds like Krishna Nagar, Janakpuri, Karawal Nagar, Ghonda and Karol Bagh, where it lost by margins ranging from 2,277 and 44,431 votes.
The result, certainly, is an indicator of the now evident disconnect between BJP’s local workers and Central leaders deputed for poll management in the last 12 days of campaigning. Interestingly, in the 2013 Delhi Assembly elections, the BJP had won 31 out of 68 contested seats. Its vote share was 33.07 per cent. According to the latest Election Commission data, the BJP’s vote share this time has come down by about just one per cent to 32.2 per cent.
But all the non-BJP votes, particularly entire core Congress votes of dalits and minorities, decisively shifted to the AAP. That is why even though the BJP poll percentage declined by just 1%, the AAP kitty swelled outstandingly. Kejriwal has sought time from the President, the PM and the HM for meeting on Wednesday.
After the loss in the polls, voices of dissent are gradually growing within leaders of the State unit of the BJP indicating that importing an “outsider “demoralised them”. The fact that irate local workers did not cooperate with “parachuted” leader has come out in the open as BJP national president Amit Shah’s panna pramukh formula failed to give the party even a face saving figure.
The result came as shocking for the BJP as even its chief ministerial candidate Kiran Bedi lost from the traditional BJP seat of Krishna Nagar — Union Minister Harsh Vardhan won a record five times from this seat. On Tuesday, reflecting upon the causes of the crushing defeat, Delhi BJP chief said, “We have to analyse where we went wrong. Certainly, we failed to gauge the pulse of the people. Projecting Kiran Bedi as the face of BJP could be one of the several reasons.”
The negative campaigning by the BJP also cost the party heavily. Besides, many voters questioned the need for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to directly launch an attack on the AAP and its convener Arvind Kejriwal.
As counting began at 8 am with the postal ballot, trends indicated around 35 seats for the AAP, but the lead margins of the AAP were huge. However, by about 9.30 am, the numbers swelled up indicating clean sweep by the AAP. As the party was set to win 60 plus seats, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Chief Minister-designate Arvind Kejriwal congratulating him and offering him Centre’s support in Delhi’s development.
A couple of days before the elections, senior leader of the AAP had released an internal survey indicating a clear majority for the AAP with 53 seats. However, the party ended up getting way above the mark. The election which was deemed as one between the haves and the have-nots turned out to be an exact opposite. Such a clear mandate has proved that the AAP appeals didn’t restrict to middle and lower classes, but it reached to the upper middle class and elite also.
After their drubbing in the lok Sabha elections, this election has been a solid rebound for the AAP. However, with rigorous campaigning, the party this time was able to influence voters. The party held its legislative meeting on Tuesday evening at Constitution Club where convener Arvind Kejriwal was appointed the leader of the party in the Delhi legislative Assembly.
Kejriwal even met the lieutenant Governor later in the day to inform him of his election as the leader of the legislative party. Kejriwal is expected to meet Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday at 11pm. While speculation is rife that Kejriwal will swear in on February 14, top party sources said the same may be postponed to February 17.