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BJP sweeps Delhi Victory boosts party morale
By K.G. Suresh
In a hatrick of sorts after its spectacular victory in Punjab and Uttarakhand, the BJP swept to power in the recently held elections to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, winning 164 seats in the 272-member civic body. Though the saffron party?s victory was a foregone conclusion in the wake of the large-scale sealings, demolitions and skyrocketing prices of essential commodities, political observers felt the landslide victory was kind of a referendum not only on the policies and programmes of the Sheila Dikshit-led Congress government in Delhi but also on the performance (or lack of it) of the Congress-led UPA dispensation at the Centre.
?This (victory in the MCD polls) was the quarter final for us. The Assembly elections in 2008 will be the semi-final and the general elections in 2009 the final?, said an elated Dr Harsh Vardhan, who along with veteran leader Prof V.K. Malhotra led the BJP in its impressive win.
The MCD poll witnessed the humbling of many young and old Congress warhorses including Delhi University Students Union President Amrita Dhawan, whose victory in last year?s students? union elections was touted as a vindication of the ruling UPA?s policies among the country?s youth.
If the results were proof that a united BJP can work wonders, the defeat and reactions to it also exposed the chinks in the armour of the ruling Congress. A defiant Chief Minister Dikshit pompously declared that the results were not a ?referendum on the state government? while her arch rival and state Congress president Ram Babu Sharma called it a ?collective defeat.?
In contrast, the soft-spoken Delhi BJP chief Dr Harsh Vardhan gave full credit for the victory to team work. While conceding that issues like sealings, demolitions, half-baked Master Plan, inflation and price rise contributed to ?voters? disenchantment with the Congress?, he said, ?We started the campaign much before the dates for the polls were announced. The key element was door-to-door campaign.?
Another factor that contributed immensely to the BJP?s splendid performance was its effort to reach out to all sections of the society. The party liberally distributed tickets to doctors, engineers, professionals, housewives, businessmen, traders, youth and people hailing from Uttarakhand and Poorvanchal.
?We realised the changing demographic profile of the city and included a cross section of the society in our list?, said Dr Vardhan. Indeed, the party allocated 32 seats to candidates from Poorvanchal and 28 of them won. Candidates from Uttarakhand were allocated a dozen seats and managed to win eight.
The state BJP chief also acknowledged the role of senior party leaders in the party?s victory. ?The campaign began with Advaniji addressing the workers. Our President Rajnath Singh was with us throughout. Then, Shatrughan Sinha campaigned intensively. V.K. Malhotra, Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj and others also gave us valuable guidance?, he said.
Among the giant killers from the BJP were Arti Mehra, who won from Hauz Khas, a general seat, by a thumping margin of 2,700 votes. She is also said to be among the front runners for the Mayor?s seat. Senior leader Vijender Kumar Gupta defeated Manmohan Singh of Congress by 9,079 votes while the party?s Ram Kishan Singhal trounced R.K. Mittal of Congress by 7,838 votes from Shalimar Bagh. Jagdish Mamgain displaced Congress from Jangpura, a ward which it had held on since 1977. Other notable winners included Subhash Arya from Subhash Nagar, former Standing Committee Chairman Prithviraj Sawhney from Janakpuri and Dr V.K. Monga from Krishna Nagar.
The civic polls also saw the emergence of the Bahujan Samaj Party as a force to reckon with in city politics. The Mayawati-led party secured 9.9 per cent of popular vote share and bagged 17 seats in the 272-member House.
Even as the Congress sought to put up a brave face, senior central party leaders have expressed serious concern over the winning streak of the BJP, which began with the Mumbai civic polls. Even as he tried to play down the Congress? drubbing in the Delhi polls, party General Secretary Digvijay Singh conceded that BJP?s morale would now be ?somewhat higher? in Uttar Pradesh where his party is trying to revive itself.
BJP?s win would not only impact the ongoing polls in UP but also the upcoming elections to the Gujarat and Goa Assemblies, they feared.
However, with the elections to the Delhi Assembly barely a year away, the BJP would do well not to rest on its laurels. Despite the differences within, the Congress would make efforts to set its house in order and take several populist measures ahead of the polls. A deal with the BSP, which played spoilsport for the Congress in several seats, also cannot be ruled out.
Hence, for the BJP only a performance in Town Hall as spectacular as its victory and an aggressive role as the principal Opposition in the Assembly can ensure an encore. The good Doctor?s (Harsh Vardhan?s) prescription to remedy the capital?s ills should begin from Town Hall at the earliest. The party will have to hammer out solutions to problems that led to the Congress? nemesis?issues such as sealing, price rise and inflated electricity bills.
A one-time amnesty scheme with a cut-off date for regularising all shops in residential areas on as-is-where is basis and unsealing of the 10,000 odd shops that have been permitted to operate under the Master Plan for Delhi 2021 are among the tasks Delhi?s voters expect BJP to have on top of its agenda.
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