5 days Ago By Kavita Pant
BJP is hoping to return to power in Delhi after almost 25 years and to oust AAP which is eyeing a third consecutive term in polls to be held in February next year. BJP is also working on several new strategies to stop AAP from repeating its past successes. Backed by RSS, the BJP is focusing on caste, core voters and problems plaguing Delhi Assembly segments After a stupendous performance in the Assembly elections of Haryana and Maharashtra the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has now set its eyes on the Delhi Assembly polls, the party has intensified its preparations for the elections and interim discussions on the selection of candidates have been completed.
Soon the names of candidates for 70 seats will be announced. It may be noted that BJP is hoping to return to power in Delhi after 25 years and to oust AAP which is eyeing a third consecutive term in the National Capital in the elections to be held in February next year. This time the BJP is also working on several new strategies to stop AAP and Arvind Kejriwal from repeating its past successes.
To make this happen the BJP organisation leaders are planning to give tickets to those leaders who have a good mass base in their areas. BJP has decided that the party will give an opportunity to new candidates in 50 per cent of the 70 assembly seats. Apart from this, those party leaders who have lost the assembly elections twice will not be given tickets this time.
According to sources, winning the election has become a ‘do or die’ situation for BJP this time . The party organisation has completed its homework for candidate selection and according to party sources, this time in the elections, veteran leaders like Meenakshi Lekhi, Parvesh Verma and Ramesh Bidhuri will create an atmosphere against AAP on the ground and will implement their traditional women-centric policy. Sources say that in the coming three weeks, the BJP is going to make all efforts to woo the voters of Delhi.
Eye on BJP’s core vote bank and also AAP’s bank Additionally, the victory in the Haryana assembly elections has made the party that if the core voters are with it then, the tables can be turned. So care is being taken to ensure that the core voters of the party come out and vote for it. The BJP’s Delhi unit leaders have already started spending the night in 1,194 slums across the city as part of a programme to connect with slum dwellers and address their problems ahead of the Assembly elections in 2025.
Led by Delhi unit president Virendra Sachdeva, the party leaders spent the night in 1,194 slums across the city to directly interact with slum dwellers and understand their challenges. It may be noted that slum dwellers have been strong supporters of AAP in the last Assembly elections as they have been the biggest beneficiaries of the Kejriwal government’s free electricity scheme. The BJP is hoping to make a dent in this vote bank in 2025.
To make this possible the party is planning to ensure its manifesto has promises for every section of society, including slum dwellers to retain that vote share. The party also plans t o create awareness about the Centre-sponsored schemes as well. The right candidate with winnability a priority for BJP Apart from this, the BJP is also ensuring that it sets the caste equations right while selecting candidates and thus will prioritise giving tickets to the Purvanchali and Jat candidates to challenge the Aam Aadmi Party.
Talking about Jats, veteran AAP leader and former minister Kailash Gehlot, who recently joined the party, can also become a BJP candidate. This time he is looking for possibilities for himself in Bijwasan, but the party wants him to contest from his current Nazarfgarh seat. Apart from Verma and Bidhuri, the names of former CM Madanlal Khurana’s son Harish Khurana from Moti Nagar, Vishnu Mittal from Vishwas Nagar and Manjinder Singh Sirsa from Rajouri Garden and former state president of the party Satish Upadhyay from Malviya Nagar are doing the rounds.
RSS becomes active in Delhi Additionally, the RSS has also started getting active in the national capital after its active participation in Haryana and Maharashtra ensured BJP’s return to power. The good thing for the party is that the Sangh has started a series of meetings in connection with the Delhi Assembly elections. Like in Haryana and Maharashtra polls, the RSS has already started discussions with small groups of BJP, in which election strategies are being discussed for which RSS Joint General Secretary Arun Kumar is camping in Delhi and handling the responsibility of maintaining coordination between the BJP and the RSS.
RSS is an organisation that works at the grassroots level in small groups with complete networking and as it has a deep penetration in the society and whenever it activates its traditional network, the results are surprising. This is the reason why in the Haryana elections, the BJP managed to change the Opposition narrative. The RSS is aware that the BJP does not have any local leader of that stature to compete with Arvind Kejriwal but is very well aware that the people are angry with the AAP government.
Therefore despite a lack of strong leadership, if BJP fights with collective leadership and at the grassroots level, then Kejriwal can be defeated. RSS has brainstormed on activating local leaders at the booth level and giving preference to leaders who have a strong hold in the area in ticket distribution. BJP also relying on AAP’s anti incumbency The BJP is relying on anti-incumbency in this election and thus the party’s entire focus will be on highlighting the public’s problems in every assembly segment.
The party believes that if it is successful in convincing the people that the condition of their area has deteriorated under AAP’s rule and that AAP is responsible for the problems ranging from roads to sewer and water, then this will be the reason for BJP’s victory. BJP also believes that in the last five years, the image of Aam Aadmi Party leaders and government has been damaged due to allegations of corruption. In such a situation, this time BJP has enough chance to capture power in Delhi.
Click for more latest Opinion Analysis news . Also get top headlines and latest news from India and around the world at News9. Kavita Pant is an Associate Editor at News9 with over 20 years of experience in media.
She writes opinions on politics, and international affairs and analyses anything that catches her attention. Thriving on Newsroom pressure, Kavita has worked with print editions of Hindustan Times, Times of India and DNA and covered both Lok Sabha and Assembly Elections extensively in Rajasthan. Beyond headlines, she's a full-time mom, avid foodie, and adventure-seeking Pahadi.
She can be reached at [email protected] Latest News.
