Thanks to the Modi wave and rebel turncoats, the saffron party managed to win crucial seats in Congress bastions
The Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) decision to give tickets to fresh faces instead of its sitting 153 councillors worked for the party as it was fighting against a strong anti-incumbency factor. It had been ruling the municipal corporations of Delhi for the last 10 years. The decision to junk the sitting councillors, however, seemed to convince the voters to give them another chance.
In the past, several charges of corruption have been levelled against the BJP-ruled corporations. In the last two years, the situation had worsened with the deteriorating condition of sanitation in the city. Despite all this, the party managed to win all the three corporations with a thumping majority.
During the last leg of the campaign, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had started attacking the BJP by stating that if people wanted to save their children from dengue and chikungunya, they should not vote for BJP. The BJP, on the otherhand, focused on the Central government's performance.
Talking about the party strategy, BJP state President Manoj Tiwari said: "The decision was tough for the sitting councillors but we wanted to send the message that we will provide a corruption-free corporation this time. I am thankful that the people accepted us." "Our development agenda won the hearts of the people. They believed in our Prime Minister's vision," he added.
Tiwari, who carries the tag of an "outsider" in Delhi, said the decision was a step towards realising Modi's vision of a "new India", driven by the power of the youth.
Completely removing the sitting councillors from the picture and refraining from indulging in a "negative campaign", the party sought votes in the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The decision had come as a shocker to the sitting councillors, as even their family members were not given tickets. PM Modi took the decision after the colossal defeat of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and BJP alliance in Punjab. Congress won 77 out of the 117 seats there.
"He (Modi) wanted new faces in for the elections. So, it was decided that all the sitting councillors would be dropped from the list of candidates," a senior BJP leader said.
During his tenure as the CM of Gujarat, Modi had taken a similar decision for civic polls in Surat.
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