While Congress has now has more reasons to rejoice, especially after the recent rapprochement between Ajay Maken and Shiela Dikshit, this defection came at a very inopportune moment for the BJP.
No friend or foe is permanent in politics. This proved true on Saturday morning as Arvinder Singh Lovely drew a close to his honeymoon with the Bharatiya Janata Party, saying he was an "ideological misfit".
While Congress has now has more reasons to rejoice, especially after the recent rapprochement between Ajay Maken and Shiela Dikshit, this defection came at a very inopportune moment for the BJP.
The party is already facing a lot of flak from traders following the sealing drives across the capital that have snuffed the life out of major markets including the ones in Defence Colony, Meherchand, Karol Bagh, and Model Town. Most of the sealings have been carried out in the wards where the BJP is in power, causing a lot of heartburn among businessmen. As a measure to reach out to them, Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari even talked about stopping the sealings for the next six months. As the step comes to a naught, businessmen from these markets have struck a sour note with the party.
The current sentiment among merchants is going to affect BJP's vote bank in the impending by-elections for 20 seats in the Delhi Assembly. At the same time, they will have to work hard on getting Sikh votes, which are now likely to swing in favour of the Congress, since Lovely enjoys considerable influence within his community.
The avalanche effect Lovely's exit can ensue, is not lost on Delhi BJP, as murmurs of few other former Congress leaders doing 'ghar vaapsi' gain momentum at 14, Pant Marg. Barkha Singh, Pratyush Kanth are some of those figuring in the rumours, according to sources.
Traders claim that the BJP has lost the rousing support it had garnered from them during the MCD polls. "Almost 90 per cent of us voted for the BJP during the last elections, hoping it would work in our favour. Instead, it rewarded our loyalty with sealing drives, jeopardising our source of livelihood. We are going to reevaluate our choices now," said Vikram Bhasin, president, GK-II Traders' Welfare Association.
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