Janjivan Bureau / New Delhi : Delhi is among the ‘smaller’ states in India, with just a 70-member Assembly. Then why is the BJP so anxious about the upcoming elections here?
Home Minister Amit Shah has taken upon him to defeat CM Arvind Kejriwal and his party AAP. Several BJP leaders have earned the ire of even the Election Commission for their controversial and divisive speeches.
So why is BJP so desperate to win Delhi, even though it sailed through the Lok Sabha elections and won all the seven seats here.
Firstly, because winning the Delhi election is now an issue of prestige for the BJP.
The party has been out of power here for 22 years now and faced an especially stinging defeat by the ‘start-up’ political party AAP in 2015.
Plus, having lost a string of states in the recent past, the BJP is desperate for a win. Results from neighbouring Haryana were hardly encouraging. Former ally Shiv Sena cost it Maharashtra, where its vote percentage dropped drastically since Lok Sabha elections. Jharkhand showed BJP’s lack of local leadership and grasp on issues in the state.
Other factors like state elections being an endorsement of the popularity of PM Modi are also factored into the election race by the BJP.
However, the biggest reason is something else.
Delhi results will be seen as a verdict on the controversial CAA-NPR issue that has split the country and lead to nation-wide protests.
BJP needs to win Delhi to prove that anti-CAA resistance is limited to a ‘handful few’.
Jharkhand, which the BJP lost, came while CAA was being cleared by the Parliament; so the results were not viewed as a reflection on the Act.
Delhi is the first time the BJP will face the voters’ test on the issue, which is why it is important for the saffron party and Shah to claim victory.
Given that the past few months have proved that voters are not voting in favour of PM Modi in state elections also makes Delhi a cause of concern for the BJP. It is not without reason that, for the first time, it is Shah who has become the BJP’s face in an election. So far he has largely played the role of a strategist.
As the Home Minister CAA-NPR is Shah’s baby and Delhi elections will be a verdict on him as well.
