Delhi Assembly polls: Amid AAP & BJP’s aggressive campaigning, Congress struggles as top guns remain aloof

The buzz for the Delhi Assembly elections is quite intense as just five days are left for the February 5 polling day the results for which will be declared on February 8. The BJP is trying its best to return to power in Delhi after 26 years with the slogan of the BJP is the ‘change’ along with highlighting the allegations of corruption against Arvind Kejriwal.

The contest is tough between the ruling AAP, the fast-growing BJP and the Congress which is trying to regain its lost ground. However, as of now the contest looks tough between AAP and BJP with Congress looking way behind both right from West to East to Central Delhi, the fight is between the AAP and the BJP.

Where are Congress top brass?

Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi’s absence from the electoral battle of Delhi has been the talk of the town and everyone is wondering why the siblings are not yet active in campaigning. This has also raised suspicions that Congress has suddenly become laid back and no more looks eager to contest the way it had entered the poll arena.

This begs a question as to why the Congress poll campaign suddenly became lacklustre. Rahul Gandhi held just two rallies, one on January 13 and another on January 28. Priyanka is yet to address a rally in this crucial elections. She has been the party’s star campaigners in almost every election since she stepped into active politics.

The Congress campaign seems to have gone online with the White T-Shirt Campaign but it should realise that elections cannot be fought just on social media and online. One has to ensure people-to-people connections, door-to-door campaigning and rallies to connect with voters. So, what’s brewing within the Congress party in Delhi one wonders. With even the INDI Alliance partners distancing themselves from Congress and backing AAP the grand old party seems to have realised that it is not in a position to dent the AAP or BJP voter base in Delhi.

Congress declining vote base

Congress party’s vote share dropped from 24 per cent to 4 per cent in seven years and it could not even open its account in the last 2 elections. A party which once won three consecutive assembly elections from 1998 to 2013, could not even open its account in the 2015 elections and got only 9.65 per cent votes. Whereas, in the 2013 elections, Congress managed to win 8 seats with 24.55 per cent votes and the decline continued in 2020, with the vote share falling to 4.26 per cent as it scored a zero in the Vidhan Sabha.

As Congress fights for its existence in Delhi amid the dwindling voter base, at stake is the reputation of many stalwarts of the party’s four to five-time MLAs like Jai Kishan from Sultanpuri, Haroon Yusuf from Ballimaran, Kunwar Karan Singh from Model Town, Mukesh Sharma from Uttam Nagar, Bhishma Sharma from Ghonda, Surendra Kumar from Bawana. Similarly, party state president Devendra Yadav, former state president Anil Chaudhary, former MP Sandeep Dixit, senior leaders Alka Lamba, Jitendra Kochar and Abhishek Dutt’s reputation is also on the line.

It may be noted that the Congress had initially shown a lot of enthusiasm by calling leaders from other states like DK Shivkumar, Ashok Gehlot, Sachin Pilot etc to keep the morale high of its workers in Delhi. Back then it was looking like Congress was very confident about taking on AAP, but now things seem to have changed. The party’s top leadership has gone into silent mode realising that even after they go full throttle on the campaign trail the party will not get respectable seats as the party has lost its core cader the Dalits and Muslims to AAP.

It is not just about Rahul or Priyanka, but the big leaders like Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge are also keeping a distance from the Delhi elections. It seems that Congress has left the party candidates in the fray to fend for themselves and taken it for granted that the candidate will win the polls if he has a good voter base and a powerful presence in Delhi.

Contest is between AAP & BJP while Congress struggles

As of now, in Delhi the fight seems primarily between the AAP and the BJP. The Saffron party has been accusing the AAP of corruption and pointing out its failures in key areas such as clean drinking water, quality of roads, public transport, air pollution, dirty Yamuna and healthcare. Both parties are also embroiled in a dispute over voter lists with the AAP accusing the BJP of trying to remove the names of AAP supporters. The BJP alleges that the AAP is helping illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar to strengthen its voter base.

The Congress after losing miserably in the Haryana and Maharashtra Assembly polls seems low in morale and the top brass is aware that if even after they campaign aggressively the party puts up a poor show then it will convey a negative message in the party cadre and also the Opposition INDI Alliance. However, the local Congress leaders are trying hard to regain the party’s influence in Delhi. The party has also launched a new welfare scheme for women, promising Rs 2,500 per month if the party is elected, but will this be enough to regain base in the national capital while its top leadership keeps away from aggressive campaigning?