BJP to repeat Haryana, Maha experiment; AAP gives Kejriwal second chance, Congress yet to decide as Assembly dissolved for fresh polls
After the Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved the dissolution of the Delhi Assembly, paving the way for fresh Assembly polls, the main contenders set the ball rolling by trying to decide the leadership issue.
While Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was first off the block by announcing Arvind Kejriwal as its chief ministerial candidate, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) decided to count on the charisma of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and fight under collective leadership. The Congress was yet to take a call if it would go the BJP or AAP way in deciding the leadership issue.
Exuding confidence that the party was not short of good leaders, BJP State chief Satish Upadhyay said: “The decision not to project anyone as the chief ministerial candidate was taken because we want to fight elections solely on collective leadership. The BJP has no dearth of popular and capable leaders.”
Senior BJP leader Jagdish Mukhi, who is seen as an aspirant for the Chief Minister’s post, too echoed the same sentiment and reposed faith in the Central leadership.
The BJP had fought the last Assembly elections under the leadership of Dr Harsh Vardhan, who was its chief ministerial candidate. In the 2008 Assembly polls, the BJP projected Dr Vijay Malhotra as its chief ministerial candidate.
The party has changed its strategy vis-à-vis the Delhi Chief Minister under the new dispensation. “Our aim is to win Delhi elections first, the chief ministerial candidate will be decided by the central leadership,” said a Delhi BJP leader.
The BJP has decided to follow the Maharashtra and Haryana model where the party fought the recently held Assembly elections without naming their chief ministerial candidates. Even in the case of the forthcoming Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand Assembly polls, the BJP has not projected any one as its chief ministerial candidate.
Meanwhile, the AAP has been swift in cashing in on the “faceless” face-off with the BJP as it claimed that the party was scared it would lose by a big margin in the upcoming Assembly polls.
The AAP tried to pitch it as a direct fight between Arvind Kejriwal and senior BJP leader Jagdish Mukhi but the latter refused to bite the bait. “It’s very clear that Jagdish Mukhi is the BJP’s chief ministerial candidate,” Kejriwal said.
Mukhi on the other side said: “I am a party worker and will do whatever the party asks me to.” Senior AAP leader Ashutosh claimed that the AAP was sure to win 45 seats, a claim later pooh-poohed by the BJP.
Congress, the third player in Delhi’ political arena, is pitching its might to reclaim the ground that it lost to AAP in the last Assembly elections. Ajay Maken the former Union Minister, may lead the Congress poll campaign in the Capital as its chief ministerial candidate.
Sources say Maken may contest from New Delhi Assembly seat in the absence of former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit who has not shown any inclination to contest. He is the credible face in Delhi who can lead the Congress in a better way and counter Kejriwal.
The current leadership in the Delhi Congress has failed to make any impact after Dikshit, and the forthcoming contest could be a direct one between the BJP and the AAP.
It would be an interesting contest between Maken and Kejriwal in Gole Market, political pundits say. However it is not clear whether Kejriwal will seek re-election from the New Delhi seat or opt for some other seat.
Before entering into national politics, Maken had won the Assembly polls thrice between 1933 and 2003. In 1999 he was appointed parliamentary secretary to then Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and acted as the CM’s principal troubleshooter. He was number two in the Sheila Dikshit Government when he was given the Transport, Power and Tourism portfolios. He was later made Speaker of Delhi Assembly at the age of 39. Maken had lost lok Sabha elections in 2014 from the New Delhi seat and stood third.
However, Delhi Congress president Arvinder Singh lovely said they will go “collectively” and there will be no official name for the CM’s post. lovely said that the Congress will go it alone with the slogan of 15 years versus one year of misrule and confusion in the National Capital.