AAP in hot water following MCD poll debacle -Governance Now

AAP in hot water following MCD poll debacle

The BJP has tasted yet another success, retaining all the three municipal corporations in Delhi.

Ankita Sharma | April 26, 2017 | New Delhi

#BJP #Arvind Kejriwal #MCD polls #Narendra Modi #AAP #Manoj Tiwari #Ajay Maken

The BJP’s clean sweep is not just a referendum on the Arvind Kejriwal government, but also could mark the beginning of the end of one of India’s youngest political parties, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

After the Bharatiya Janata Party’s massive win in the UP assembly elections, the MCD polls are another important indicator that the mood of the country is with prime minister Narendra Modi. The AAP’s vote share has gone down and the Congress’ claim of resurgence too have run aground.

Overall, out of a total 272 wards, the BJP won in 183 wards, AAP won 44 and the Congress 32. It coasted to victory in 64 of 104 wards in MCD North, 70 of 104 in MCD South and 49 of 64 in MCD East; well over the halfway mark that gives it control in all three. The results show that in each municipality, the BJP has bettered last time's performance.

The credit of BJP’s political victory in the municipal elections goes to its strategy of projecting Modi, a moved that attracted the Delhi voters. After a stupendous win in the UP elections, a rejuvenated BJP maneuvered the campaign on PM’s face value, quite unlike any local polls in the country.

The campaign dented the accusation of corruption in MCDs for the last five years and the victory is clearly a result of smart political campaigning.

Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari told Governance Now: “Throughout the elections, it was not Narendra Modi alone who was the face of BJP. It is pro-poor policies of the Modi government, planning of Amit Shah and ground work of BJP party workers which in combination are the face of BJP.”

The BJP won 144 wards out of 272 in the 2007 elections to an undivided MCD. Congress had won 59 seats. After the trifurcation of the body in 2012, the BJP won 138 wards with the Congress winning in respectable 78 wards.

For AAP, today's loss practically means a political wipe-out. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP, which in 2015 assembly polls won 67 of 70 seats, is already suffering from a debacle in Punjab and Goa. It has suffered cracks. After the Punjab debacle, all is not well in AAP. Leaders and workers are showing signs of restlessness and disillusionment with the top brass, chiefly Kejriwal. AAP MLA Ved Prakash, of Bawana, Dwarka legislator Bhawna Gaur recently resigned to join the BJP.

Sources say that AAP is headed for another break-up.

After 2015 assembly polls, the Congress has been routed in Delhi for the second time. For them, the MCD polls were an opportunity to restructure and make a comeback in Delhi politics. This is the second biggest defeat for the party in Delhi which has dropped to the third place and could manage only 30 seats.

Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken took the moral responsibility for the defeat and resigned from his post on Wednesday afternoon. The Congress is looking at a bleak future.

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