Delhi Assembly polls are likely to be triangular, with AAP, BJP, and Congress as key contenders.
New Delhi: The upcoming Assembly elections in Delhi are expected to be a triangular contest, with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) being the two main players and the Congress party trying to carve out its position in the Assembly after nearly a decade.
Earlier, both I.N.D.I.A bloc partners, Congress and AAP, had tried to reach out to each other to come to common terms and form an alliance, and contest together against the BJP.
A senior Congress leader in the capital said, “ AAP offered Congress around 10 seats, but that was too less for us. We are already struggling to build our cadre, and contesting on just 10 seats would further diminish the cadre’s enthusiasm. Plus, we will also have reduced presence in the capital.”
Moreover, with the BJP’s enthused cadre after the Haryana and Maharashtra wins, the party is confident that it will be able to increase its vote share, which has remained stable throughout recent Assembly elections. As the BJP is considered a party of the middle and upper-middle-class people, with the trading community as its staunch supporters, political analysts think there may not be any conclusive increase in its vote share, which currently stands around 38%. This is due to the growing association of voters with AAP, driven by the party’s pro-people schemes and freebies. In addition to that, there is a common understanding in political circles that if Congress gains traction in Delhi, it will dent AAP’s so-called secular vote base, ultimately helping BJP get more seats. Congress till the 2008 Assembly polls, when it last formed the government Delhi, was known for representing the poor, Dalits, and the Muslim community- groups which gradually shifted their support to AAP. A Congress leader said, “ Congress had received around 5% votes in the last Assembly elections of 2020, and we are expecting to get more than 10% votes in Delhi, as Muslims are inclined towards us. But there are no seats we are certain about. There are no safe seats for us. If we achieve this vote share, it could help BJP get more seats than their previous tally of seven.”
According to AAP leaders, the party is confident that it will not only secure majority on its own but also win with an overwhelming mandate. The party had swept the elections last time with around 53% votes. Out of the 70 constituencies, AAP won 63 seats, with 49 of them securing more than 50% vote share, nine seats with around 49%, and the remaining five seats with less than 49%.
AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal ruled out an alliance with the Congress for the forthcoming Delhi Assembly elections. Though the two parties remain members of the I.N.D.I.A bloc at the national level, they have failed to agree on common terms for a tie-up, since contesting the Lok Sabha elections together in some states.