Kejriwal led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has registered a thunderous victory in the just concluded Delhi assembly elections. AAP has won a monumental 67 out of a total of 70 seats that translates to a scorecard of 96%, a feat rarely seen in elections the world over.
While, Congress has been decimated securing a big zero, BJP is reduced to a trifle 3, down from 31 it won in December, 2013. Critics have interpreted this to be a referendum on Modi and even surmised that this will stop his juggernaut.
Such interpretation is figment of one’s imagination. It reflects a mindset of his opponents who suffered ignominy of defeat in general elections last year and were desperately looking for a chance to hit back. They have got one in the outcome of Delhi elections.
This applies to AAP as well which having won an impressive 28 as debut-ant party in December, 2013 nursed national ambitions and put up over 400 candidates yet, lost heavily. In Delhi, it got a zero out of 7 parliamentary constituencies that it contested.
So, on what basis do they claim that Modi’s juggernaut has stopped? They argue that the prime minister personally shepherded the election campaign of BJP and even deputed over a dozen of ministers for electioneering. This is a fallacious argument.
All these persons carrying the tag of minister or even the prime minister are first members of the BJP and in that capacity, they have every right to campaign to ensure it victory. If they succeed, it is the success of the party and if they lose, it is party’s loss. It would be illogical and absurd to interpret the defeat as a reflection on the performance of the central government.
Delhi election results bear the stamp of local issues, how each party plays them out and connects with the masses. For instance, corruption in MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) is a big issue which AAP successfully leveraged to its advantage at the cost of BJP. A weak organization, internal strife within local leadership, parachuting of an outsider Kiren Bedi at the last minute, support of all anti-Modi parties to AAP and fatwa (diktat) issued by Imam of Jama Masjid to all Muslims to vote for AAP et al all added to a deadly cocktail leading to BJP’s debacle.
Notwithstanding the above, even if one were to assume for a moment that Delhiites have rejected policies and programs of Modi (not true), it would be preposterous to extrapolate this logic to whole country. Delhi constitutes a mere about 1% of India’s population and to assume this to represent views of 99% as well is wholly un-warranted and unjustified.
Only a few months back, people of Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand reiterated their faith in BJP giving it sweeping mandate in assembly elections [in J&K too, it made a big mark and is now on way to forming government along with PDP (Peoples Democratic Party)]. Those are much bigger states accounting for substantially higher share of population. Therefore, public confidence in Modi at the national level remains very much intact.
A reality check on last 8 months of BJP–government in office clearly shows that it has made major strides in fulfilling the promises Modi made to 1.25 billion people. Here is a person who has used every moment and galvanized all his ministers use theirs to deliver on good governance and inclusive development.
He has focused on altering governance structures, streamlining bureaucratic procedures, empowering the bureaucracy, removing impediments to approvals and clearances, bringing transparency in decisions, empowering state governments [NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog – new incarnation of erstwhile Planning Commission – is founded on the edifice of ‘federal’ structure], use of information technology for improving efficiency and fast delivery of services.
The government has also launched dozens of schemes viz., Make in India; Swachh Bharat; Skill Development; PM Jan Dhan Yojna (PMJDY) etc which seek to empower the poor and lower middle class and make them partners in growth. The unprecedented success of PMJDY with about 111 million accounts already opened and close to Rs 10,000 crores deposits made by poor in these gives ample proof that Modi walks the talk.
In short, the current regime at the centre is busy filling the pot holes created during a decade of mis-rule, brazen populism and policy paralysis under UPA dispensation. It is laying the foundation for sustained recovery and catapulting India to among top economic powers on the global landscape.
Already, we see a substantial pick up in GDP (gross domestic product) growth, improvement in current account, lower inflation, lower interest rates and above all, restoration of India’s image as a country which is serious about reforms and good governance. Pumping of a record US$ 40 billion by FII (foreign institutional investors) during 2014 stands vivid testimony to the ‘feel good’ emerging ever since this Modi took charge.
The government has also gone in an over-drive mode to countenance menace of corruption and bring back black money stashed abroad. The rapid action in this area – in a short span of less than an year – is in sharp contrast to no- action (in fact, brazen attempts to shield the corrupt and black money mongers) of several decades in the past.
Meanwhile, Team Kejriwal has been doing door-to-door campaigning and has covered almost every household in Delhi. Playing a masterstroke, it pitched aspirations of poor and lower middle-class to dreamy levels by promising in situ homes on jhuggis in slums and un-authorized colonies, free water, free Wi Fi, 50% cut in electricity tariff, 800,000 jobs, 20 colleges etc.
Kejri also touched an emotional chord with masses by publicly tendering an ‘apology’ for premature resignation an year ago and assuring that this time, he will run the full term of 5 years. He also successfully played the so called ‘victim’ card leveraging personal attacks made by his opponents including BJP. In Indian elections, this factor alone can lead to huge swing in the fortunes of a leader who is the target of vilification/mudslinging campaign!
In Delhi elections, AAP was a big hit like tsunami across all sections of the electorate viz., poor, lower middle class, middle class, rich, youth, women, traders, slum dwellers and so on. They were all fascinated by his ‘common man’ tag as also ability to deliver on tall promises – un-mindful of their feasibility within available resources. This tsunami literally drowned all the development and good governance that Modi has delivered at the national level.
AAP’s resounding victory in Delhi is a local phenomenon and is primarily driven by Kejri’s charismatic persona (something reminiscent of Modi’s charisma during campaigning for general elections last year) and his promising moon to common man. It would be a serious mistake to view this as a reflection on Modi or his policies and programs.
Modi’s juggernaut that started with BJP’s resounding victory in May, 2014 Lok Sabha elections and ran through a spate of victories in states (sans Delhi) is unstoppable. Even Kejriwal conceded this obliquely in his speech on February 14 after swearing-in when he opined ‘let Modiji take care of India while I focus on Delhi’.