Roadshows by AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal in the prestigious New Delhi constituency and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Sultanpur Majra capped a day of nearly 100 rallies by leaders of various parties, including BJP president Amit Shah, as campaign ended.
Curtains came down on three-week long high-voltage poll campaign in Delhi on Thursday, with the major political players keeping fingers crossed. All eyes are now set on the polling day – February 7, to decide the fate of candidates in the high-stake elections, which are set to impact on the national polity. While the contest has zeroed in between the BJP and the AAP, the Congress, relegated to third position, went into campaign will full might, hoping for a revival.
Roadshows by AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal in the prestigious New Delhi constituency and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Sultanpur Majra capped a day of nearly 100 rallies by leaders of various parties, including BJP president Amit Shah, as campaign ended.
Analysts here agree, the outcome will be a win-win situation for the BJP. In the wake of AAP taking over national capital, it will then try to expand its base in Bihar and states like Punjab, Haryana and even UP, in the process eating out votes of secular formations. One major reason why Congress came out with full force on the campaign front was to prevent the march of AAP, lest it becomes a threat in other bastions.
"Even if BJP fails to get a clear mandate, it will continue to be in an advantageous position as AAP will emerge as new secular alternative. It will be a political misfortune for the Congress," says psephelogist Abhay Kumar.
Political experts see the election as a test of Modi government's performance. But BJP president Amit Shah dismissed the perception saying there is no link between the two. "It is true that the good work of the Union government will have its impact, but a state election cannot be a referendum on that alone," Shah said.
The BJP brought Kiran Bedi in the midst of campaign, hoping to counter AAP's Kejriwal. However, Bedi's induction only led to factionalism; her verbose interviews and summoning of the MPs didn't go well with cadre and leaders.
While surveys, till the end, did not give a clear mandate to the BJP, the party, in its last bid, managed to get the backing of Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's Haryana-based Dera Sacha Sauda, which is understood to have some followers in Delhi. So were these elections significant for the ruling party that it scrambled all its ministers and over 100 MPs for campaign. The RSS also extended support in micro-managing the election.
For the Congress, hopes remained low key, though it brought in senior leaders to show its presence. Though candidates carried out their campaign at individual levels, Sonia Gandhi's rally and vice-president Rahul Gandhi's road shows saw good turnout.
For party's CM candidate Ajay Maken, BJP continues to be arch rival and AAP a bubble. Maken, on the last day of the campaign, also alleged that AAP had approached Congress for a pre-poll alliance, which was turned down.
Among the two other parties, AAP seemed more confident, but over the past few days were submissive on the allegations of cash for vote and liquor for vote. Its former volunteers turned against the party, for accepting questionable donations. But they were the only ones going door to door and contacting voters individually.
At Connaught Place, the heart of the city, AAP's ever enthusiastic volunteer cadre turned out in big numbers since morning, engaging people, covering the area in a sea of white caps.
As Christian community got lathi-charged by the police at the Sacred Heart Cathedral, for protesting against attacks on churches, AAP leader Raghav Chadha too came out in support, and got arrested along with the protesters.
AAP's biggest support base is the urban poor and the labour class of the capital, to whom promises of lower electricity rates, free and steady supply of water, affordable vegetables matter greatly.
But all is not well, as reports of 12 corrupt candidates with criminal backgrounds have surfaced. Voters in those constituencies are angry with the party for failing them. Also, AAP remains disturbingly tight-lipped on how dirty money, from AVAM's allegations, seeped into its funds.
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