Delhi poll 2015 scene: For BJP it is life and death!

-DR. ABDUL RUFF COLACHAL

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Darwin’s theory of survival of the fittest fits well in Delhi poll scheduled for February. Three major parties, Congress, BJP and AAP are going to fight it out to stay in politics.  For all these three parties  it is an acid test and life  or death experiment as Delhiites are seriously considering  their method of selection. However, it is highly crucial for the India’s rising BJP and PM Modi.  It looks their cumulative future depends too much on the verdict the people of Delhi would give to parties.

BJP and Modi would face troubles if Delhiites reject them at this crucial juncture.  Anti-Congress anti-incumbency and Modi wave made the BJP lucky winner in many states that went to poll after the Lok Sabha poll. But Delhi is not Jharkhand, Haryana or Maharashtra.  The poll results in Jammu Kashmir have given an indication the Modi charisma is losing sheen and therefore, we could not get majority on our own in Delhi.

The BJP in Delhi has remained out of power for the last 15 years. The December 2013 polls threw up a hung 70-member house, with the BJP winning 31 seats, the AAP 28 and the Congress eight. The AAP formed a government that lasted 49 days, necessitating fresh polls. If BJP loses power this time also, things would be worse for the party now ruling the centre.

Already, BJP could not gather enough people for the rallies to claim “spectacular” ones. Last year BJP decided its MPs would hold 2,700 public meetings across the city. However,  the target failed.  The party wants to ensure that BJP posters and hoardings come up at every nook and corners of the city as quickly as possible so that the party becomes more visible.

The BJP workers are now a dispirited lot in Delhi for two reasons:  one, they not sure of winning the poll and two, just concluded Kashmir poll did not offer the expected outcomes. The BJP camp in Delhi as such looks in a quandary.  Upon the Lok Sabha poll verdict, the state leadership has been behaving like Hitler asking the carders to just do what is asked for.

For the BJP wining the Delhi is not just the prestige issue but indeed an existential issue. If it loses Delhi this time, naturally it is likely lose India sooner than later. Therefore, Hindutva minds are work to somehow get a simple majority riding over the anti-Congress-Modi wave.

The Modi government is trying to ensure a simple majority in Delhi Assembly poll to be held in February by regularizing 895 unauthorised colonies of Delhi, which have come up till June 1 this year. The Union Cabinet had recently approved an Ordinance in this regard, benefiting about 60 lakh people.

In the elections held in 2013 the BJP narrowly missed a simple majority  as the new AAP not only made inroads into the Congress vote bank but also  shook the BJP forts built since 1947 when  Indian government of Nehru had brought Hindus from Pakistan and resettled them there with  money,  lands and a strong voice in state media. 

According to the party survey conducted between 30 and 31 December, Narendra Modi government's decision to approve ordinance to regularise 895 unauthorised colonies will benefit the BJP and it may win 25 to 27 Assembly seats which fall in these colonies. Delhi state has 29 Assembly constituencies comprising 895 unauthorised colonies. BJP is not in a good position in three Assembly seats -- Okhla, Deoli and Badli and it wants to focus on these three seats to win them. They have already the poll work in these constituencies.

After the unexpected derailing in Jammu Kashmir poll where the BJP could make to the top position to be able to form a government to execute its hidden Hindutva agenda in Kashmir valley, making the life of Kashmiris more difficult. BJP is deadly focused on making Kashmir valley a Hindu land as well by using Kashmiri parties as coalition partners. That has been the political strategy the JP has adopted in India for years in every state to win seats and somehow make its government.

Congress-BJP nexus is well known. Wherever Congress ruled, BJP tool over in due course and in Kerala where the Congress party is ruling now, the BJP is making strenuous efforts to make inroads s into Congress forts.

When BJP comes to power, it employs many personnel who worked for the Congress government. At least four senior union ministers have found ingenious ways to defy Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s complete ban on appointing those as their personal staff who had worked as PS, APS and PA to union ministers during the UPA government’s decade-long tenure from 2004 to 2014. Hours after taking over as the Prime Minister on 26 May, the Department of Personnel and Training of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions had issued a 17-page circular giving “Consolidated instructions relating to the appointment of personal staff attached to Union Council of Ministers”. BJP is worried that the BJP union ministers are flouting the written rules of the government issued at express instructions of PM Modi who is now at war those ministers.

Elections are fought on money. Since the party has not released any list of its candidates, no one wants to spend money. All the candidates have adopted the policy of wait and watch.

It is believed the BJP is eager to get more votes this time at any cost.

Against the background, BJP’s main rival and real nightmare AAP has already launched an aggressive campaigning for the assembly polls, using all means to reach out to people

Although it has set a goal to achieve 60 seats in Delhi, the BJP expects a hung assembly once again in Delhi in the prevailing situation.

Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court sought response of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) on a plea alleging presence of large number of bogus voters in various assembly constituencies of the national capital. The court sought explanation over the allegation that there are many persons in the city who have numerous voter cards in their name but with different addresses. The court sought reply from CEC and CEO before January 5 on a plea seeking direction to delete the name of bogus voters in different constituencies; including Mundka here which itself has over 41,000 such forged car holders. It seems in almost every constituency there are serious irregularities and a large number of fake and bogus names have been included intentionally and deliberately in the electoral roll.

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