Kejriwal working on war footing to win Delhi

New Delhi: After the early selection of candidates by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for 11 Assembly seats in Delhi, party chief Arvind Kejriwal is reportedly working in full swing to retain at least 50 constituencies in the 70-seat Assembly. In 2020, the party swept the elections, winning 63 seats. Following Kejriwal’s release from jail in mid-September, he is said to have immediately started focusing on constituencies identified as vulnerable through internal surveys, according to a person privy to the developments. To build momentum and mobilize foot soldiers in these weak seats, the AAP announced candidates early for the elections, which are likely to be held early next year.
There are, however, rumours in political circles that the AAP and Congress are engaged in backdoor talks to ally. Two leaders holding official positions in the Congress suggested that the recent interview of Delhi unit interim president Devender Yadav, in which he denied the possibility of an alliance, holds merit. Moreover, Yadav publicly sought forgiveness from the people for the Congress’s recent alliance with the AAP during the Lok Sabha elections. A Congress spokesperson said, “There are whispers that the AAP wants to ally with Congress because it believes the grand old party has strengthened itself compared to last time. Any improvement in our vote share can directly harm the AAP and benefit the BJP. We are also hearing that the AAP is offering 12 Assembly seats, but the Congress wants around 20. Whether this is true or not, I am not sure.” Another spokesperson noted that the AAP’s early declaration of candidates could mean that the party is leaving no stone unturned to win the election. Among the 11 candidates announced, 7 are contesting on seats lost by the AAP in 2020. Alternatively, the move could also be a strategy to pressure Congress, similar to what happened in Haryana. He said, “In Haryana, the AAP was in talks with us but began announcing candidates along the way. Eventually, there was no alliance, and in the elections, they ended up taking 2% of our precious votes.”
The internal assessment of the Congress suggests a potential threefold increase in its vote share—from around 5% in the 2020 Assembly elections to more than 15% in the upcoming elections.
Of the 63 seats the AAP won in the last Assembly elections, 49 were secured with more than 50% of the votes, leaving only 14 seats where the victory margin was less than 50%. Even among these 14 seats, the party won 9 with more than 49% of the votes. However, according to a political analyst working in Delhi, the contest this time is not going to be easy for the AAP. He stated, “All the equations could change. If Congress gains more votes, it will cut into the vote share of the AAP, reducing its prospects in several Assembly seats. On the other hand, the BJP’s vote share has remained static at over 35%. Their vote share is difficult to reduce, and they could be the party to benefit from a strong fight between the AAP and the Congress.”