Out on bail Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has once again surprised political pundits by announcing that he is going to resign as Chief Minister. He said would sit on the chair only when the people vote him back to power and prove that he is honest .
It is yet another gamble by Kejriwal and AAP to seek public support ahead of the Delhi elections slated to be held early neat year 2025 . The term of the AAP government which was voted to power in 2020 for the third time ends on February 2025. In the current Delhi assembly out of 70 , AAP has 60 , BJP – 8 while Congress drew a blank.
While the numbers are overwhelmingly in favour of the AAP , what will rattle the party most is the indictment of the party leaders in the Excise policy scam. Health minister Satyender Jain till now languishes in jail . While Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal ( out on bail) , and earlier the likes of senior leaders – Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh too spent time in jail before being released on bail . These arrests had dented the so far clean image of the party .
And hence it would need great amount of reach out / campaign by the leaders to convince the people that they did no wrong . It’s a gigantic task in the age of social media and 24 X 7 Godi media which in their prime time shows much to the glee of the ruling party at the centre BJP went all – out against AAP.
Following the resignation announcement by Kejriwal , BJP said it is ready to contest the elections whenever it is is called / decided by the Election Commission. Buoyed by 7 Lok Sabha MP’s of parliament BJP intended to go on a door-to-door campaign and apprise the voters of the failures of the AAP government and raise the pressing issues of the national capital. The target is clear expose the AAP model of governance .
Before getting gung- ho about the chance to replace AAP in the near future , the BJP should go ahead and name a CM candidate to take on Kejriwal without any hitch. Without a CM face BJP faces a tough ask . It did not have a CM face in 2020 and even in 2015 it’s move to name Kiran Bedi, backfired badly . BJP was routed at the polls with AAP bagging 67 and BJP decimated at 3 .
The BJP, which has retained all seven city seats ( Lok Sabha ) , Modi government at the Centre for the past 10 years, has been unable to form a government in the capital. It has made the BJP frustrated .
There is uneasiness and in the BJP as far as Delhi is concerned . It may be recalled , Sahib Singh Verma was the last prominent BJP face, who went on to become the chief minister of the NCT of Delhi way back in 1996. He served as the CM for two-and-a-half years before an unprecedented onion price crisis ousted Verma from the post, to be replaced by Sushma Swaraj.
Swaraj served as the city chief minister for 52 days before the assembly elections were announced. And, since December 3, 1998, the BJP has remained unsuccessful to form a government in Delhi. Sushma’s daughter Bansuri is a Lok Sabha MP from New Delhi . With the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi harping on Nari shakti – Will Bansuri Swaraj be the BJP’s CM face ?
BJP had in a desperate bid for power used seasoned leaders like Dr Harsh Vardhan in 2013, Kiran Bedi in 2015 and Manoj Tewari in 2019 and all were disasters. As many 200 plus MP’s , 70 ministers and 11 Chief Ministers of the BJP campaigned during the 2020 Delhi assembly polls yet the result was a unmitigated disaster . So for the BJP elections is a real test .
Overall, The Delhi elections have lot at stake for the all the parties . For AAP battle to retain retain credibility and honesty. BJP to seize the moment after 1998. And Congress chance to stay relevant in the national capital. So watch this space !
