The Bharatiya Janata Party has been out of power in Delhi for over 20 years. In no other Indian state has the party waited for longer to regain the Chief Minister's seat. Yet, indications are that wait could get longer.
The BJP waited late to let Prime Minister Narendra Modi take centre-stage. That, according to political analysts, is because the contest seems to be out of their hand. Internal BJP surveys, Nistula Hebbar, political editor of The Hindu newspaper said, have predicted a tough fight for Modi and his party.
Local issues like low power and water tariffs, free transport for women and improved quality of education are proving to be a formidable challenge to the BJP's campaign machinery that's focussed mainly on issues like the abrogation of Article 370 and the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019, she said. “The BJP has decided to adopt a ‘go-micro' approach to make sure that its core vote base is kept intact in the event of a loss.”
Therefore a call had to be taken that no face would be projected, that they don't want to waste Prime Minister Narendra Modi's charisma on an election that looks very difficult to win.Nistula Hebbar, Political Editor, The Hindu
Political Strategist and Co-Founder of LoudST Amitabh Tiwari said the Delhi Assembly election has become a “prestige battle” for the BJP—with Narendra Modi and Amit Shah on one side and Arvind Kejriwal of the Aam Aadmi Party on the other.
In 2013, AAP formed the government despite being the second-largest party while in 2015 it swept to power with 67 seats. According to Tiwari, Modi's late entry into the campaign was to avoid “potential embarrassment”.
BJP will not want to have a 3-0 scoreline with Modi at the helm.Amitabh Tiwari, Co-Founder, LoudST
Watch the full conversation with Nistulla Hebbar and Amitabh Tiwari here:
Essential Business Intelligence, Continuous LIVE TV, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.
