“First they ignore you
then they laugh at you
then they fight with you
then you win”— Mr. M.K Gandhi.
“Do not underestimate the power of a common man.”
This is what exactly happened in Delhi. BJP was continuously attacking the Aam Aadmi Party and Arvind Kejriwal. They called him an anti-national to Naxal and what not. They criticised him to the core, they tried spreading hate against him, they did all that can damage or tarnish the image of Aam Aadmi Party but voters have shown their maturity by ignoring the BJP and its hate politics. AAP was elected on an issue dear to the masses and classes. Nobody wants communal tensions. People needed a truly secular front and not appeasement politics. BJP committed the same mistake as the Congress. Instead of the AAP party and development, they focused on Kejriwal, just as the Congress focused on Modi during the Lok Sabha elections. The result is the same. Congress lost to BJP and now BJP has lost to AAP. Secondly, there is a leadership crisis in BJP; they failed to project a CM candidate in Delhi. The loose cannons in BJP gave random statements that have not gone well with voters. There were unsuccessful sting operations against Kejriwal government which were later on exposed by AAP leaders. In the entire campaign, BJP fell flat on its aerobatics.
AAP deserves to win the 2020 elections as it has worked to improve the life of common man not on paper or yojnas or abhiyans but on the ground level. During the elections, Arvind Kejriwal was asking votes for the work he has done but not for anything else. Whereas BJP was seen going communal as usual. The education and healthcare has created a positive, effective and visible impact on the common man and their lives. This combined with the improvement in infrastructure like power and water is seeing Kejriwal Government again in Delhi. Hats off to Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and their team for the tremendous hard work they did in the national capital. BJP’s negative campaign already put them some steps behind AAP. 77 per cent of Muslim votes came out of supporting the Congress and turned their attention towards AAP. This endeavour is enough to convert a losing team into a winning one. The youth and dynamical volunteers of AAP were able to connect themselves with local people and rickshaw/ auto drivers and common masses. I would rate AAP’s performance very satisfactory based on the work they have done in Delhi. They have completely and positively transformed education and healthcare. They have delivered subsidised water and electricity for the needy without hurting taxpayers. They provided door step delivery for essential services. They have worked on a lot of areas to improve the infrastructure and overall well-being of Delhi. In 2013, 2014 and 2015, AAP had gained at the expense of the Congress. This year, the Congress is in revival mode and its old base seems to have moved back to the Congress at the expense of AAP. The voter this time denied splitting their votes between AAP and Congress. Hence, they favoured the Aam Aadmi Party completely.
AAP was elected on an issue dear to the masses and classes. This result is beyond the understanding of the best psychologists, data analysts, political analysts and enthusiasts. We got to accept that the man Arvind Kejriwal has proved BJP wrong. BJP gave away Delhi to AAP on a golden platter. There are many reasons behind the rout of the BJP in the national capital. BJP generally known for its alertness and its ability to attack its foes with all its might was snoozing ever since Arvind Kejriwal stepped down. While Arvind Kejriwal never wasted a moment in playing the victim blaming BJP (along with occasional mentions of Congress) and consolidating voter base with his padyatras and campaigns, BJP Delhi chose to chill and lay back. BJP Delhi was divided over going for fresh polls and many times they made their dissent public. They woke up just a month before the elections and then it was too late. The campaign ultimately became a mudslinging fest and it was very different from the “Vikas” agenda that BJP is known for. BJP Delhi was a relaxed unit which was relying heavily on the Modi rallies and Shaheen Bagh anti-national stand.
They were very confident of winning major seats in the name of Hindutva and nationalism, they thought that an announcement of Lord Rama’s temple would pitch those votes or Article 370 would change their fate but this time BJP was over confident. Delhi is not Uttar Pradesh or Bihar where communal stand matters a lot. An ordinary Delhi voter will always give Bijli Pani a higher priority than Hindu- Muslim. BJP hired many rejects from AAP but those were already disowned by the people of Delhi. On the other hand, AAP never stopped campaigning ever since Kejriwal retained power. They were everywhere. Their posters stared at us, their surveys stayed on our subconscious and their volunteers were all around us. Unlike last time, AAP this time didn’t go down and dirty. They weren’t too vitriolic. They kept on repeating their agendas and stayed away from needless mudslinging. They never said a word against any BJP leader rather they were more focused on what they had delivered. Kejriwal has learnt his lessons rather quickly from an aggressive leader to a matured Chief Minister. Also he never missed a chance to criticise the BJP. They successfully created an anti-incumbency sentiment against both Congress and BJP, while the last time BJP won the state elections in Delhi was 16 years ago. When lies are repeatedly told, they start appearing as truth. He has transformed from an activist to a politician but he has to become a leader and a statesman to command the same respect and trust that people bestowed in him.
We team AV wish Delhi Wallahs all the best. We wish AAP and Kejriwal all the best too. It is time to work more and more.
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