#BattleForDelhi : Can A Desperate BJP Capitalise On Arvind Kejriwal’s Dented Image ?

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 !