KEJRIWAL STOPS MODI JUGGERNAUT

KEJRIWAL STOPS MODI JUGGERNAUT

BY VIKAS KHANNA

NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 10 :  What a victory! This diminutive former bureaucrat stands tallest among the past and present leaders of Delhi for scripting such an astonishing victory. This would surely go down in the annals of history as unparalleled as no leader before him had tasted such majestic success. Previously, the Congress under Sheila Dikshit had recorded its biggest ever victory by bagging 52 of 70 seats when it had trounced BJP in 1998.  But today’s victory is historic as AAP blew away all by bagging all but three seats.

None expected that Arvind Kejriwal, who had lost his face by resigning abruptly within 49 days of his rule last year plunging Delhi into political uncertainty, would recover ground so soon to sweep the polls, dealing a major blow to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

How can such a phenomenon be interpreted? Was it a vote against BJP or Modi or both?

BJP will need a lot of explaining to do as it had sought votes in the name of Modi before importing former top cop and social activist, Kiran Bedi, frightened by the spiraling popularity of Kejriwal. BJP used everything under its bag --- Modi, money and machinery --- to stop Kejriwal in his tracks. Alas, it did not happen.

Nothing worked for the BJP. In fact, the writing on the wall was loud and clear. But the BJP failed to read the message. It kept on committing mistakes after mistakes. While Kejriwal succeeded in striking chord with people by raising issues concerning them and promising solution, BJP resorted to negative campaigning. Leaders after leaders, including Modi, tried to run down Kejriwal, some even calling him names which did not go down well with the masses, including hardcore BJP supporters. The BJP did the same what the Congress did in the Lok Sabha elections targeting Modi and paid the price.

The decision to delay elections also cost the party. Riding on the success of Lok Sabha elections, the party could have encashed on it by holding elections in Delhi immediately. But it shied away from taking a shot? The unnecessary delay gave AAP enough time to regroup and win back support of the cross sections of people.

BJP also erred in imposing Kiran Bedi on its cadres within four days of her joining the saffron party. That dampened the spirits of several top leaders and their supporters who had been slogging for years in Delhi. The BJP started losing ground since then. What many thought was a masterstroke by BJP, in fact, backfired. Not only did Bedi fail to enthuse party workers, she could not even win her seat from Krishna Nagar, considered to be one of the most safest constituencies nurtured by Dr. Harsh Vardhan. She was trounced by a little known lawyer S. K. Bagga. That sums up the story.

BJP also did no good to itself by delaying the names of candidates adding to confusion only. Several party candidates had to jostle at the last moment to file their papers leaving very little time to them for campaigning. By then AAP had already positioned itself by holding rallies, conducting road shows and reaching out to people through door-to-door campaigning. In fact, AAP was several notches ahead even before the start of the race. 

An over-confident and largely complacent BJP thought that Modi magic would do wonders again as had happened in Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Haryana and Kashmir. But as campaign progressed, Modi and his team realized all was not well forcing them to open money bags and spending crores of rupees on advertisements seeking votes in the name of Modi. But they failed to breach the Kejri (wall).

The elections are also a warning against partisan politics of Hindu hardliners in BJP. It is high time the BJP realizes that elections can’t be fought and won over petty and communal lines. Modi would do well to rein in fringe elements in his party, who are strong believers of divisive politics. Today’s youth aspires for a strong and developed India. Development and inclusive growth should be the mantra of the BJP if it aims to do well in future.  (ENDS)