With Aam Aadmi Party looking to be the new kingmaker, Congress and BJP have tightened the belt, rolled their sleeves and are preparing themselves to sweat it out. Delhi Assembly Elections this year are going to be a masala packed entertainer.
And now that NOTA (None of the above option) is a reality, the elections in the state on December 4 could have a twist no one predicted.
The war will primarily be between three parties - Aam Aadmi Party, Indian National Congress and Bhatiya Janta Party.
Congress is feeling the heat and have come to terms with the fact that the upcoming general elections are not going to be easy. Mudded with issues like price hike, crumbling law and order and increased cases of rape, Sheila Dikshit’s reign will face the litmus test.
The decline in the quality of governance has been a big question in the recent times. The decay in women's safety (a long prevalent issue) came to fore with rise in rape incidents in Delhi. The huge uproar that followed and the inefficient manner in which that was treated has left dents in the minds Delhiites.
When a torch is lit in a dark cave filled with directionless people, they often look at where the light came from. Similarly, Arvind Kejriwal was the voice of the masses. He tapped into a vein of urban anger over the venality of the political class after a string of breathtaking graft scandals.
"Delhi is the start, we will take this to the rest of the country," said Kejriwal in one of his recent election campaign rallies.
The enthusiasm of Aam Admi Party coupled with the fact that they've used the online medium to their advantage massively might play in their favour. They are even raising funds through their website and through other social media platforms.
Since the online donation campaign was launched January 2013, the party has claimed that it has raised Rs 17 crores in clean funding just for the Delhi elections.
While, Sheila Dikshit has been the Chief Minister in Delhi since 1998, the rise of Kejriwal or the growing influence of Narendra Modi may not deter her stability that easily.
"How can one vote for the Aam Aadmi when one doesn't even know what the Aam Aadmi stands for. It has jhadoo (broom) which they say is going to sweep everything away, but what are you going to do? With the Congress, at least you have 15 years of work to show," she had said in an interview with Reuters.
The BJP is said to be the aggressive party in these elections. With Modi as their biggest selling point, BJP looks at the Assembly elections with a fresh approach. Vijay Goel was supposed to be the favourite among critics for the Chief Ministerial candidate for BJP. However, in a surprise move Dr. Harshvardhan, an ENT specialist was anointed the position. Many pre-poll surveys also suggest that if AAP was not such a strong contender, BJP would have swept the elections easily.
Being the capital of the country, the Delhi assembly elections and the results play a definitive role in the days ahead.
Delhi is far away from being called a world class city. Issues like corruption, inflation, electricity, policing and women's safety along with infrastructure woes cast a heavy shadow on the citiy's development. Delhi craves for efficient governance and a fair leader. For Sheila Dikshit to not lose out on her fourth straight term as Chief Minister will take some strategic campaigning.
There are 70 seats in Delhi, which means 70 candidates pitted against each other.
Candidate list: BJP
Congress (to be announced) AAP
BSP (to be announced)
Chief Ministerial Candidate for each party: AAP: Arvind Kejriwal
After graduating from IIT Kharagpur,he worked as a Joint Commissioner in the IT department. He won the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Emergent Leadership in 2006 for his contribution to the enactment of the Right to Information Act and for his efforts to empower the poorest citizens of India.
He is supposed to be the emerging kingplayer in the upcoming state elections. He put himself up against Sheila Dikshit's historical reign in Delhi.
In 2012, he launched the Aam Aadmi Party after separating ways from Anna Hazare.
BJP: Dr. Harshvardhan
Not-so-famous Dr. Harshvardhan rose to fame after being named BJP's Chief Ministerial candidate for Delhi. Fondly known as 'Dr Saab', Dr Harshvardhan is an ENT specialist by profession. He entered the political circles in 1993 and has held the seat from Krishna Nagar constituency in east Delhi from 1998.
Between 1993 and 1998, Dr Harshvardhan initiated the National Polio Surveillance Project in Delhi, which, drop by drop, became a national polio eradication campaign. In February 2014, India will celebrate three polio-free years.
He was also conferred the Director-General’s Polio Eradication Champion Award Commendation Medal by the World Health Organisation in Rio de Janerio, Brazil, in May 1998.
'Shasak nahin sevak (Worker, not ruler),' said BJP posters of Dr Harshvardhan that are spread across Delhi.
Dr. Harshvardhan could possibly prove to be a trump card for BJP. The gamble to present a non-controversial, clean face might just prove to be a masterstroke.
Congress: Sheila Dikshit
There is no taking away that Sheila Dikshit is a common name in Delhi. Being the Chief Minister of the capital city is a top job. From 1998 to now, Dikshit has managed to stay on the throne and has no plans to leave without a fight.
But this could be the toughest battle yet.
She represented India on the UN Commission on Status of Women for five years (1984–89). In Uttar Pradesh, she and 82 colleagues were jailed in August 1990 for 23 days by the state government when she led a movement against the atrocities being committed on women.
Earlier, in the early 1970s, she was chairperson of the Young Women's Association and was instrumental in the setting up two of most successful hostels for working women in Delhi.
But the absence of a articulate women’s safety agenda along with Dikshit’s public statements in the past asking women not to be ‘adventurous’ and blaming migrants for rise in crime have taken the zeal off her past achievements.
Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress party has governed for the last three consecutive terms. Congress representative Sheila Dikshit has gotten complacent in her job. The sentiment in the city is of disappointment towards Congress. However, the other contesting parties don't seem to be that convincing either.
The hand symbol of the party was ideated by Congress member RK Rajarathnam on February 2, 1978. He advised Indira Gandhi that the hand would be easily recognisable and she readily agreed.
Manifesto of INC for Delhi Elections 2013 has not yet been released.
Aam Aadmi Party
The elections mark the debut of the Aam Aadmi Party. The party was formally launched on 26 November 2012. The roots of this party can be traced to the Jan Lok Pal Movement which was led by Anna Hazare.
The party has the broom as their symbol which represents the need to clean the political system of this country, according to Arvind Kejriwal. the broom according to the party also symbolizes dignity of labour. The party hopes to clean the filth which has permeated our government and our legislature.
The party has a huge online presence. They used the medium heavily to collect funds for campainging and functioning of the party. The website can be viewed here.
Manifesto of AAP for Delhi Elections 2013 has not yet been released. In a first for the Delhi Assembly elections, the AAP has promised to come up with a local manifesto for the 70 constituencies. These documents were to be a reflection of the macro issues plaguing each area.
Bhartiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janta Party was founded in December 1980, under the direct leadership of Vajpayee and Advani. After the loss of Janata Party in elections of 1979, the Janata Party disintegrated and it was an off-shoot of this that BJP was founded.
The BJP and the NDA suffered a shock defeat in the general elections in 2004, and failed to muster a parliamentary majority. A.B. Vajpayee passed on the prime ministership to Dr. Manmohan Singh of the Congress Party, and its United Progressive Alliance.
BJP's logo is the Lotus which is the symbol of Saraswati and learning. The Election Commission has allowed the BJP to change the outline of lotus this year to make it look bolder and the party will use the revamped version in all its publicity material for the upcoming polls.
This year it seems, Narendra Modi is the sole selling point of the party. Being the Prime Ministerial candidate, he is rallying al across the country and giviing aggressive speeches. Will Modi mania work in the favor of the party?
Manifesto of BJP for Delhi Elections 2013 has not yet been released.
For the first time in the history of elections, the Election Commission of India would also appoint Central Awareness Observers, whose main task would be to oversee voter awareness and facilitation.
The voting results are slated to release on December 8.
According to the C-Voter opinion poll, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is ahead of the Congress and the BJP in Delhi. The debutant party is said to play a key role in the upcoming elections that will decide the nature of government in Delhi.
The C-Voter survey conducted in November shows that AAP has gained 7 per cent in its vote share from September. The party has also gained seven seats jumping from 11 to 18 since September. While Kejriwal won the popularity poll in Delhi with 34 per cent votes, Congress' Sheila Dikshit bagged 31 per cent of votes and BJP's Harshvardhan got only 27 per cent of votes.
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