BJP Lost... the Plot in Delhi

With three elections in a span of fourteen months it has been a politically supercharged time for Delhi Fourteen months that have seen the implosion of Congress to a faux opposition party the turbulent rise then fall then resurrection of the Aam Aadmi Party and BJP virtually accomplishing its dream of pan India domination But just as team ModiShah seemed to be an unstoppable force mdash set to take over Bengal and Bihar next mdash they have been halted in their tracks by a man who had been reduced to a political joke a few months ago Arvind Kejriwalrsquos remarkable resilience as a politician is making all the headlines mdash what is not is how BJP got its electoral maths in its own backyard so disastrously wrongAn auto rickshaw in New Delhi sports an elecion poster of the two front runners for the CMrsquos post AAPrsquos Arvind Kejriwal and BJPrsquos Kiran Bedi PIcAFPEvery opinion poll has predicted that this is going to be a close one some claiming a dead heat When the EVMs are finally unsealed on the 10th of February it may still be the BJP that might inch ahead but thatrsquos beside the point Even in victory the Delhi hustings would leave the BJP battered bruised and certainly not the party that was the unstoppable unassailable force it was over the last nine months or soMorally itrsquos a defeat already for BJP in Delhi because despite a supremely wellorganised structure and leadership the party was outsmarted outmanoeuvred outwitted at almost every step of the way by a nascent AAP driven by the zeal of one man AAP learnt the tricks of the trade and moved deftly while BJP waited for ModiShah to get free from other state conquests to focus on Delhi mdash by the time they did it was too late to contain the damage Delhi in many ways would give regional satraps a blueprint to halt BJPrsquos long march towards East and South India This is howArvind Kejriwal didnrsquot make the cardinal mistake that politicians are prone to making mdash wait for the elections Soon after the Lok Sabha drubbing AAP got to work in Delhi at the colony level meeting people getting feedback and criticism understanding the real issues It was a fight for political survival so Kejriwal did something very uncharacteristic of an Indian political leader mdash he tendered an unconditional apology to people for having quit after 49 days and from there was born the slogan of lsquo5 saal Kejriwalrsquo as assurance of full term in office So while Modi took oath to office toured the world focused on Mission 44 in Jammu and Kashmir mdash AAP was building bridges with a miffed electorate in DelhiContrast this with the BJPrsquos last minute campaign strategy that was largely antiKejriwal giving more credence to a man the party didnrsquot even see a worthy opponent till now Then after announcing that there wouldnrsquot be a Chief Ministerial candidate the BJP did a Uturn and Kiran Bedi was suddenly given a quick induction and promotion However this lsquoimport strategyrsquo didnrsquot go down well with the old timers and Bedi herself proved disastrous with her daily utterings Her rejection of a moderated debate with Kejriwal was used by AAP to showcase her as a weakling operating under the shadow of ModiUnlike Kejriwal the BJP didnrsquot apologise not for the 4babydemanding Shakshi Maharaj not for the loony Hindu Mahasabha out to marry Valentines couples not for the growing intolerance to freedom of speech and certainly not for the violence in Bawana and Trilokpuri In fact the Prime Minister has a vision of upto 2050 for India but is blind to the rising right wing fringe whorsquore confident that lsquotheir manrsquo is at the helm Delhi certainly is not taking a kind view of the lab experiments going on in the NCR or across the country therefore the growing middle class and upper class support to KejriwalAAP already had the unstinted support of the low classes the street hawkers the rickshaw and auto drivers mdash the class that gets hit by corruption on a daily basis mdash and nothing has changed for them ever since Modi came to power AAP has shown that clear focus of vote base is more powerful than the lsquoHindu Votersquo of yesteryearsThe BJP knows that itrsquos a tough battle and that it may go down to the last seat mdash that is why the active involvement of ModiShahJaitley in the campaigning not to mention a plethora of BJP ministers and MPs who have been allocated campaign duty in Delhi While there have been some lsquoexposesrsquo on AAP and some dubious black money funding the BJP itself hasnrsquot been able to provide details of its campaign fund and how much Black Money stashed abroad has come back as was promised during the Lok Sabha elections Also the ability of AAP to use the media to hit back BJP allegations has left the party without too much ammunition The same BJP that had been experts at media management in 2014 are calling media persons lsquobazaarursquo in 2015Delhi 2015 hustings would be remembered for engineered defections motivated lsquoexposesrsquo and negative campaigning It would also be remembered for the ability of a small party to upset the apple cart for the BJP Notice how the phrase lsquoModi Waversquo is missing from this election clearly Delhi is low tide for the BJP While this may not be a referendum on Modi per say the struggle to win on lsquohome turfrsquo clearly indicates that peoplersquos patience or love for the BJP is not limitless The disenchantment is setting in mdash or as one auto driver put it succinctly ldquoI have seen the face of BJP even if it was not AAP and the party was TUM my vote would have gone thererdquo ModiShah and Company better watch out then because they lost this oneAkash Banerjee is a broadcast professional and Author of Tales from Shining and Sinking India