Delhi polls: No CM face, but BJP banks on RSS power to steer it through

As the Election Commission announced the dates for the Assembly polls in the national capital, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to launch its biggest campaign to end its 27-year-long wait to return to power in Delhi.

What hurts the saffron party the most is the lack of a strong chief ministerial candidate leading up to the polls.  That's why the party is banking on the power of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and other Sangh affiliates to capture power as it did in Haryana and Maharashtra. Polling in Delhi is scheduled to take place on February 5 and counting of votes will take place on February 8.        

The BJP and RSS are planning to hold at least 1.5 lakh small meetings of 15-20 people in different areas of the national capital. 

Also Read: Delhi polls | Modi-Kejriwal face-off intensifies as campaign gathers momentum

If the recent assembly elections of Maharashtra and Haryana are an example, where the BJP managed to win a mammoth majority with the help of other affiliates of the Sangh Parivar, the BJP and the RSS conducted at least 60,000 meetings individually in these two states. The BJP-RSS combine has planned to reach out to a majority of voters in Delhi with a clear focus on corruption allegations against AAP and the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal.

RSS and affiliates to help BJP in campaign

While the RSS and its 32 affiliates are coming forward to help the BJP in its campaign, the Delhi unit of the BJP is trying to build a narrative against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government on issues of corruption, pollution, and false promises of cleaning the Yamuna river. The BJP is hoping that allegations of corruption and lack of development in the national capital under AAP’s rule should help the BJP build a momentum against the AAP government.

Also Read: 'Phir Layenge Kejriwal': AAP chief launches campaign song for Delhi polls

“The AAP government claims that it has provided better health facilities, school infrastructure, and drinking water, but the truth is that in all these areas, the AAP government is facing allegations of corruption, and some of the important ministers, including former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, were in jail and are now out on bail. The Supreme Court has categorically stated that Arvind Kejriwal should not visit the Delhi secretariat because of the corruption allegations. We want to tell the people of Delhi that the development of Delhi can only happen under the BJP government because AAP is only busy in corruption,” Neeraj Tiwari, BJP spokesperson, told The Federal.

BJP’s leadership issues in Delhi

Even as the RSS and its other affiliates are coming forward to boost the election campaign of the BJP in Delhi, one big challenge for the BJP that remains is that it does not have a face for the post of chief minister.

While the BJP clearly projected chief minister Nayab Singh Saini as the face of its campaign in Haryana and Devendra Fadnavis led the BJP and the campaign of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Maharashtra, the Delhi unit of BJP does not have a leader to counter the popularity of former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Also Read: Modi on development projects inauguration spree in Delhi ahead of poll

Although the BJP has tried to bring in leaders from the national BJP and made Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma, two-time Lok Sabha member, contest against Arvind Kejriwal, and Ramesh Bidhuri, also a two-time parliamentarian, to contest against Delhi chief minister Atishi, it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has so far led the campaign against AAP and Congress with his two public meetings.

Focus on grassroot-level campaigning

Continuing with its strategy to rely more on its grassroot-level campaigning, the Delhi unit of BJP is trying to replicate the strategy of Haryana and Maharashtra with the help of members of the Sangh Parivar. Just as in those two states, PM Modi led the campaign but held only a limited number of public meetings, similarly in the Delhi polls, there is a suggestion from the members of the Sangh Parivar that the PM should only hold 4-5 public meetings.

“The focus of the BJP’s Delhi campaign will remain on grassroot-level campaigning and reaching out to different sections of people, including government employees, residents of gated colonies, scheduled caste, migrants from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and other states, and unauthorised colonies. The Prime Minister will lead the attack on AAP but there will be limited number of public meetings and roadshows,” a senior leader of the BJP in its Delhi unit told The Federal.

Also Read: Delhi polls | Cong, AAP turncoats are BJP's trump card to break Kejriwal's citadel

‘People know corruption allegations are political’

Political analysts believe that the lack of leadership within the BJP and the decision of Virender Sachdeva, president of BJP’s Delhi unit, to not contest polls may work against the party in the national capital.

“The fact is that the BJP does not have a strong leadership in Delhi and it has to bring in leaders from its national organisation. The decision of Virender Sachdeva to not contest suggests that even the state president is not confident. The BJP will try to make corruption a major issue, but people know that allegations of corruption are more political in nature,” Abhay Kumar Dubey, author and professor at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), told The Federal.