NEW DELHI: The BJP faces a tough task as it seeks to oust the AAP from power in Delhi on the back of its national planks like CAA coupled with the Centre's decision to give ownership rights in unauthorised colonies. Meanwhile chief minister Arvind Kejriwal banks on a mix of populist schemes and personal appeal to repulse the saffron challenge to Aam Aadmi Party in the February 8 assembly polls.
With BJP president Amit Shah leading the charge by accusing Kejriwal and Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi of instigating "riots during the anti-CAA protests, the saffron party has made it clear that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act will be a key issue in the assembly polls.
Kejriwal has, however, avoided to confront the BJP on national issues. He has been muted in his criticism of the CAA, while vowing to fight the polls on local matters and governance.
Shah and Union minister Prakash Javadekar, who is BJP in-charge for the Delhi polls, have also accused Kejriwal of failing to fulfil any major promise he had made in the 2015 polls, asserting that it will also be a major election issue.
As the national capital has witnessed protests against the CAA, some of which turned violent, BJP leaders are of the view that their aggressive campaign can help the party against any major erosion to the near 57 per cent vote share it bagged in the city in the recent Lok Sabha polls.
If a big chunk of Muslim votes sway to the Congress, currently seen as a distant third, due to its top leaders' vocal opposition to the CAA, then it may queer the pitch for the AAP.
The Aam Aadmi Party, the BJP and the Congress had won 54, 32 and nine per cent votes respectively in the 2015 assembly polls, as Kejriwal led his fledgling party to an unprecedented victory bagging 67 seats in the 70-member assembly.
The BJP was reduced to three seats, suffering its first electoral shock following its string of wins in state polls after Prime Minister Narendra Modi led it to a historic 2014 Lok Sabha win.
The BJP is hopeful that the Modi government's decision to confer ownership rights to occupants of unauthorised colonies will help it win over the poor living there, seen as a support base of the AAP. The party says the decision will benefit up to five million people.
On the other hand, the AAP is bagging on its populist schemes like free power to households for up to 200 units of consumption, free water and free bus ride for women besides its work to boost education and health facilities.
Modi's charisma was back at work in the 2019 general election as the BJP won more than 56 per cent of votes and all seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi. The Congress came second with 22 per cent votes and the AAP followed with 18 per cent.
However, in the recent assembly pRead More – Source
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