New Delhi: With the announcement of Delhi Assembly polls for 70 seats, a high-voltage political battle appears to be on the cards for the elections slated for February 5. Battle lines are drawn among three political parties- the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress.
The AAP and the BJP are the main contenders in the poll battle while the Congress, which has been struggling for the last three elections, is fighting to salvage some pride. The desperation for the BJP, which has not tasted power since 1998, and the strategy of AAP to foil the saffron party from winning are expected to set up a riveting poll battle.
It would be interesting to see how the grand old party can win how many seats in the assembly polls as in the last two assembly elections, in 2015 and 2020, it failed to open an account.
The ruling AAP has been facing several challenges, such as anti-incumbency, corruption allegations, unfulfilled promises, and development issues. However, Congress seems to struggle to get back its vote bank support to register its presence in active politics in Delhi. It has almost lost relevance after it was defeated by debutant AAP.
Congress struggles
It can be a challenge for the Congress to garner its traditional vote bank support which has shifted towards AAP in the 2013, 2015 and 2020 assembly elections. In 2013, APP got 29.5 per cent votes and won 28 seats, BJP managed 33 per cent votes and won 32 seats, and Congress’s vote percentage was 24.6 per cent.
In 2015, APP got a landslide victory in the Delhi Assembly election by winning 67 seats and 54.3 per cent votes but Congress hardly managed to get 9.7 per cent but it did not win any seat. In 2020, APP received 53.57 per cent votes and 62 seats while Congress lost all assembly seats and recorded a 4.26 per cent vote which was below from the last election.
Delhi Congress wrote on X, “On 5 February, you have to come out of your homes and decide the future of Delhi. On one side are those forces which stand with hatred. On the other side are those forces which stand with love. On one side stands Narendra Modi and his ‘Chhota Recharge’ on the other side stands Rahul Gandhi.”
5 फरवरी को घरों से निकलकर आपको दिल्ली के भविष्य का फैसला करना है।
— Congress (@INCIndia) January 22, 2025
एक तरफ वो ताकतें हैं, जो नफरत के साथ खड़ी हैं। दूसरी तरफ वो ताकत है, जो मोहब्बत के साथ खड़ी है।
एक तरफ नरेंद्र मोदी और उनका 'छोटा रिचार्ज' खड़ा है, दूसरी तरफ राहुल गांधी खड़े हैं।
मैं राहुल गांधी के साथ 'भारत… pic.twitter.com/6tPP0nAqh3
Congress was running the Delhi government from 1998 to 2013 under the leadership of Sheila Dikshit but the party lost against AAP which not only dented the ruling party’s assembly seats but its vote bank too. Just after the movement against corruption, AAP decided to contest elections under the leadership of Arvind Kejriwal ousted the Congress and formed the government promising to usher in an era of 'clean politics.'
Sheila Dikshit-led Delhi government had been in power for three tenures which earned voters' trust for development and infrastructure in the initial years but later, it had to face serious anti-incumbency, and corruption allegations especially for the Commonwealth Games spending, and the Nirbhya case was the final nail in the coffin for the party. Since then, the party could not make a comeback or at least make its presence felt.
Taking social media X, Arvind Kejriwal wrote, “With the protection and support of the police, BJP people are openly committing hooliganism and threatening the people of Delhi. All this is happening on the orders of Amit Shah ji. BJP lost badly in 2015 and 2020. This time too BJP is losing badly. So now Amit Shah ji is getting hooliganism done against the people of Delhi.”
दिल्ली चुनाव में इनकी धोखाधड़ी से बात नहीं बनी तो अब बीजेपी खुलेआम गुंडागर्दी पर उतर आई है। https://t.co/4VPlkdzm16
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) January 22, 2025
Trends showed that AAP received massive support from first-time voters which was one of the main reasons for the Congress's defeat in 2013. Now, AAP is also facing corruption allegations. Now, it would be interesting to see how Congress reaps benefits from the situation and wins back the support of voters, who had traditionally supported it.
Taking a dig at AAP, BJP posted on X, “Arvind Kejriwal is the biggest thug. The big fraud who calls himself a common man lives in a glass palace and moves around in expensive cars. Listen to the anger of the people of Delhi. There is no relative who has not been cheated by the great thug.”
