Successive electoral defeats have put the Aam Aadmi Party on unsure ground and given the BJP an edge in Delhi.
TWO years ago, he was spoken about as the potential face of the opposition against Narendra Modi in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Today he is trying hard to resist a growing perception that he bit off more than he could chew in a hurry to emerge as a key player in national politics.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s national ambitions have been dealt a body blow by the unexpected defeat of his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in successive elections during the months of March and April. Worryingly for him, the AAP’s latest defeat in the Delhi Municipal elections has not only weakened the party further in its former citadel but also put the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on a stronger footing in the national capital’s politics.
The BJP won despite the anti incumbency factor: it has been in control of the city’s three municipal corporations for 10 years. Solely riding on the strong support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi among voters, the BJP won 181 of 270 seats, while the AAP finished a distant runner-up with 48 seats followed by the Congress with 30 seats. Notably, the AAP lost half of its vote share in comparison with the 2015 Assembly elections as the BJP managed to convert the municipal elections into a referendum on the AAP administration’s two years in power.
The AAP fared poorly in the Assembly elections in Punjab and Goa and in the Delhi Assembly by election. The civic election results have further diminished the political momentum that Kejriwal had in his favour after the AAP’s historic victory in the 2015 Assembly elections. Clearly, “Brand Kejriwal”, as the Chief Minister and his party are referred to by some political observers, faces an unstable present and an uncertain future.
Bu hikaye FRONTLINE dergisinin May 26, 2017 sayısından alınmıştır.
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