67 out of 70 : AAP all the way in Delhi :: Saying no to BJP, Congress
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: February 12, 2015 -

67 out of 70 and it is definitely the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) all the way in Delhi Assembly.

Something not even remotely thought of as a possibility before the election results came rolling in.

A bigger disappointment it must be for the BJP than the Congress, especially after the BJP was still basking under the Modi wave and not without reason.

Much before the Delhi Assembly election was announced, the BJP did exceptionally well in Maharashtra, Haryana, Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir but Delhi is definitely a wake up call.

Not that the BJP has not been doing well, but more than obvious that there are still a sizeable section of people who will not buy the success story of the BJP on a platter.

Hard to pin point one factor for the overwhelming showing of the AAP, but with the Congress drawing a pathetic blank, it may be taken that all the non-BJP votes may have gone to the AAP.

It may also amount to saying no to Modi’s centralised Hindutva politics thereby underlining the point that extreme right wing politics may not find buyers everywhere in a country as diverse as India.

A lesson which should not be lost on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and to the right wing elements within the BJP. As for the Congress, it is more than clear that it is yet to learn any lesson from the previous Assembly elections as well as the drubbing it received at the hands of the BJP in the Parliamentary election in 2014.

A sad commentary it is on the oldest political party in the country.

Zero after being in power for 15 years is some sort of a record and written on the flop show is the message that people have had enough of the long years of misgovernance and the presence of two power centres within the fold of the Congress.

Not that Delhi has not taught the Congress a lesson earlier, for remember in the December 2013 election it came a poor third after the BJP and the AAP.

Difficult to say how the AAP will perform this time, but Arvind Kejriwal will need to tread cautiously and realise that the AAP cannot afford a repeat of the last fiasco, which resulted in 49 days in office.

There could be many reason for the pathetic show put up by the BJP but as Zee News said, the party may have paid a heavy price for running a negative campaign against the AAP and Arvind Kejriwal.

A demonstration that people are more interested in what all political parties intend to do for the common citizens. It is here that the Delhi voters need to be acknowledged.

It is also a reflection that though the BJP at the Centre may be working hard to better the economy, this has not meant much to the common people.

A wake up call that any economic policy that is pursued has to address the needs of the people and not some section.

Already debates are doing the round on whether the Delhi Assembly election is a referendum on the leadership of Narendra Modi or not, but it stands that the Delhi voters have spoken and they have said no the BJP.

It is here that the Prime Minister, the BJP president and others will need to seriously think over its Hindu right wing politics.

Desecrating Churches is certainly not going to go down well with anyone, especially in a country like India.