Hat-trick for Congress or comeback for BJP? Delhi voters to decide today

Font Size

Print

Feedback

Email

Discuss

Related Articles

Gadkari appears set to become next BJP PresidentVoting ends in R'sthan by-polls, 50% polling recor...Indira Gandhi proved India is not a soft stateProve majority within week: Governor to Hooda

New Delhi: Delhiites will decide todaywhether Congress will have a historic hat-rick to rule the national capital or BJP will ride back to power fulfilling its ten year thirst.

Elections will be held in 69 out of the total 70 constituencies while the polling for Rajendra Nagar seat, where BJP candidate Puran Chand Yogi allegedly committed suicide during campaigning, will take place on December 13.

Over 1.07 crore voters, including 4.28 lakh youth, will be eligible to chose their lawmakers from 863 candidates in the polls for which elaborate security has been put in place.

The stakes in this elections are high for Sheila Dikshit, chief minister for the past ten years, who faces voters on development agenda while BJP led by its chief ministerial candidate V K Malhotra is hoping to cash in on anti-incumbency and BSP’s ‘spoiler effect’ on the Congress.

Though Congress has not declared its chief ministerialcandidate, the party has given clear indication that if voted to power, Dikshit will have a “third innings”. She had a major say in ticket distribution which saw Delhi stalwarts like Union minister Ajay Maken and Sajjan Kumar MP being sidelined.

Engaged in a keen electoral tussle, both Congress and BJP are eagerly waiting to see how much ice Mayawati-led BSP can cut even as political pundits feel that the “Elephant’s March” could harm the ruling party’s fortunes in many seats.

The last week of campaigning saw parties fielding top leaders like Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, L K Advani, Narendra Modi and Mayawati to go on an offensive on each other.

While Congress harped on development it brought to the city, BJP picked holes in the ruling party’s claims asking voters to give “some rest” to the grand old party while raising the decibel levels on terrorism. BJP’s new development mascot Modi did a whirlwind tour in the city addressing about ten election meetings raising Congress’ alleged “failure” in tackling terrorism and price rise besides questioning the rationale for going for “killer” projects like Bus Rapid Transit Corridor.

Congress tried to counter the BJP offensive with RahulGandhi, who made his debut in election campaigning in Delhi, claiming that the saffron party was raising the bogey of terrorism as they have “no dreams to offer” on development.

On the other hand, BSP focused its campaign on winning over minorities and Dalits in the capital besides assuring upper caste voters that it was not against them by offering quota for poor among them.

Charges were also traded at each other on a number of local issues like regularisation of unauthorised colonies, sealing and demolitions, BRT corridor, demand for statehood for Delhi and privatisation of power distribution.

Besides these, the encounter at Jamia Nagar in south Delhi, in which two suspected Indian Mujahideen terrorists were killed, gave Congress’ four-month-old ally Samajwadi Party an opportunity to virtually paint the ruling party in an anti-minority light.

The election season in the capital began with intense lobbying for party nominations, which turned almost violent with supporters of some aspirants heckling BJP Delhi chief Harsh Vardhan and damaging the car of his Congress counterpart Jai Prakash Aggarwal.

Both Congress and BJP burnt midnight oil to finalise their list while BSP went ahead with changing candidates several times after jumping the bandwagon in early April. BJP fielded all its 19 sitting MLAs while Congress dropped three of its 47 legislators from the fray. BJP chose “energetic” Saket MLA Vijay Jolly to take on Dikshit in New Delhi constituency while Congress preferred a lightweight Jitender Kochar, former leader of House of MCD, to fight Malhotra in Greater Kailash seat.

Though there were no surprises in the candidates list, Congress fielded a retired IPS officer Amod Kanth from Sangam Vihar to cash in on migrant voters. While BJP did not chose any councillors despite their keenness to fight the elections, Congress gave a chance to about half-a-dozen corporators to test waters.

The intense campaigning was marked by hundreds of election rallies, street meetings and door-to-door canvasing by over 800 candidates for 70-member assembly.