Delhi didn't just vote in BJP, it also sought to fix warring rival parties

This often degenerated to even mudslinging during the electioneering, when the Opposition appeared to be caught in a virtual war among its peers. It became all the more glaring as it was pitted against the immense clout and veritable might of the BJP.

NDA's positive vibes

The BJP showed the ingenuity and foresight to give one seat each in Delhi to the JD(U) and Lok Janashakti Party (Ram Vilas) — its two NDA allies from Bihar, where Vidhan Sabha polls are billed later this year.

The candidates of the two parties, Shailendra Kumar and Deepak Tanwar, were fielded under the NDA banner from Burari and Deoli constituencies, respectively. The duo lost the polls to the respective AAP candidates, Sanjeev Jha and Prem Chauhan.

But the sheer presence of the NDA as an alliance in the contest, seen against the INDIA bloc's absence in the 70-member strong Delhi Assembly polls, sent positive vibes to the BJP's voters from Poorvanchal or eastward Hindi belt. This benefited BJP candidates in many other constituencies where Poorvanchalis live in varying strengths.

Also read: Arvind Kejriwal's hubris led to AAP's debris

No support for Congress

So much so that the Congress’s promise to form a separate ministry or department for the welfare of Poorvanchali settlers in Delhi did not cut ice with the voters. The party drew a blank for the third time in a row in the battle to mark its presence in Delhi Assembly.

This signifies the Congress’s utter failure and consistent electoral loss in the national capital, where its top leadership is housed. So much so that because of this any other party can tell the Congress to take a backseat in Delhi politics.

This is exactly what happened through the month-long election campaign. Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav and Trinamool Congress MP Shatrughan Sinha publicly campaigned for AAP. Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena lent support to AAP through an appeal to Delhi voters, ignoring the Congress’s bid to enter the Delhi Assembly after 12 years.

Miscalculations by Congress

Having fought as part of the INDIA alliance in last year's general election, and bagging none of the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi, AAP and Congress decided to try their luck going it alone in the Assembly polls.

The votaries of this on both sides thought the anti-incumbency votes cast against Arvind Kejriwal’s party would split between the Congress and the BJP, minimising the damage that the BJP could otherwise inflict upon non-BJP candidates. But this hardly happened.

Watch | Talking Sense With Srini | BJP triumphs in Delhi election as AAP’s credibility erodes

Instead, it caused a heavy damage to some of AAP’s key contestants. Congress candidates Sandeep Dikshit and Farhad Suri cornered enough votes to bring defeats to Kejriwal and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, respectively, in New Delhi and Jangpura.

These constituencies now have new MLAs in the BJP’s Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma and Tarvinder Singh Marwah.

AAP's existential challenge

So, the Delhi Assembly is now not only Congress-mukt all over again, but also minus top AAP leaders like Kejriwal, Sidodia and Saurabh Bharadwaj.

Saturday’s Delhi poll results have virtually brought an existential challenge to AAP. More so, since Kejriwal and Sisodia are already embroiled in cases related to the Delhi excise policy. The former’s house was raided by Delhi’s anti-corruption sleuths on the eve of the counting day.

Besides, the Election Commission (EC) took a stern view of Kejriwal’s stated apprehensions about Yamuna waters being mixed with poison by the BJP’s Haryana government. Eight AAP MLAs switched to the BJP very recently, on being denied AAP tickets to re-contest Assembly polls this time.

The BJP-led Centre has been turning on the heat against Kejriwal and AAP since the time the possibility of AAP losing the electorate’s mandate became a reality.

Will INDIA help AAP?

So, it can be anybody’s guess how the twin BJP governments in Delhi and at the Centre are going to deal with Kejriwal and his party colleagues in the days to come.

But the former CM can still hope that his Opposition peers may come to his aid once again, as they have been rallying behind him since the time of his arrest before the Lok Sabha polls in the liquor policy case. This included Congress, though it was a complainant in the case against Kejriwal.

But after the debacle of the AAP-Congress combine in the Lok Sabha polls in Delhi, the two parties fell out again and started trading charges and countercharges. Now that this has taken a toll on both the parties the two may well become wiser. But in case they do not, the BJP and its allies may take on one after the other.

Also read: Out of power, AAP to have tough time fighting legal battles, keeping its flock united

AAP, Congress need to introspect

Amid such serious threats, AAP can count some of its blessings. It has a government in place in Punjab with a clear and comfortable majority. Some of its leaders like the outgoing Delhi Chief Minister Atishi and her cabinet colleague Gopal Rai are among 22 party leaders who won the polls.

Both do not have the kind of cases that Kejriwal and Sisodia are facing in the courts. So, at least Atishi and Rai may help Kejriwal hold his flock together that otherwise seems to have reached a major roadblock with Saturday’s poll verdict.

It runs the risk of getting frayed. Thus, AAP needs some introspection about its role and position in the larger Opposition. Kowtowing to the BJP’s narrative and core beliefs like Hindutva and building rivalry with the Congress — which also underplays its secular ethos to pander to the Hindutva narrative — cannot take the two parties any farther from where they have landed up now.

New for old

A new strategy or roadmap is what the two parties need. And, the sooner this is devised by AAP and Congress higher ups, the better for them and the larger Opposition.

Watch: BJP ends AAP’s reign in Delhi – What led to Kejriwal’s fall?

The Congress for long (1998 to 2013) ruled Delhi with Sheila Dikshit as CM. Now, it mainly relies upon three Delhi party figures – Ajay Maken, Sheila’s son Sandeep Dikshit and Pradesh Party chief Devendra Yadav. These gentlemen have, obviously, run out of their chances to revive the party in Delhi. Thus, the Congress urgently needs to relook its choice of persons to take the reins in Delhi.

As for the BJP going after AAP like in the past or until the polls will not only disappoint voters but can also help in resurrecting AAP in their minds. More so, AAP has endeared many of them since 2013 with its thrust on streamlining civic services like education, health, electricity and water supply.

The new BJP government in Delhi will not only have to maintain this focus at the current level but also improve upon them to remain in the voters’ imagination and earn their respect.