THE BATTLE FOR DELHI
Perhaps it’s a sign of how ugly the Delhi election campaign became in the last days before the polls (on February 8, with the results due on the 11th), that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal felt compelled to defend himself against the BJP’s absurd description of him as a “terrorist”. In the sheer ridiculousness of the charge, AAP saw an opportunity for electoral gains. On February 3, they released a video in which some of the families of services personnel who have died in the line of duty expressed outrage at the BJP’s “terrorist” jibe. The “families of martyrs”, AAP claims, are particularly angry because their government has not only expressed its sympathy but also provided Rs 1 crore in financial support.
However, according to some analysts, the BJP forced AAP to change the tenor of its campaign in the final days. On television, Kejriwal sang some lines from the Hanuman chalisa as if to prove his Hindu credentials. He also defended his government’s record in facilitating pilgrimages for senior citizens, concluding forlornly “and they call me anti-Hindu”. This is familiar ground for the BJP, which seems to turn every election into an examination of ‘nationalist’ credentials. Having tried to fight much of the election campaign on the strength of AAP’s achievements, particularly in health and education, Kejriwal has been
forced to address the BJP’s persistent attacks on him as an anti-national. The BJP, through so-called star campaigners such as home minister Amit Shah, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, and even the prime minister himself, have sought to isolate Shaheen Bagh, home of the longest anti-CAA protest—a neighbourhood sit-in begun by a few Muslim women that has mushroomed into the symbolic centre of the broad unease people feel at what they perceive to be the BJP government’s divisive agenda—as illegitimate, a shelter for traitors supported by Kejriwal and AAP.
Kejriwal’s deputy Manish Sisodia declared solidarity with the Shaheen Bagh protesters, only for Shah, the Union home minister, to claim at rallies in Delhi that this indicated AAP’s solidarity with Pakistan. Since then, perhaps wary of the BJP’s ability to polarise the electorate, AAP leader Sanjay Singh has been quoted warning Shaheen Bagh protesters to “rethink” their protest, to not allow it to be hijacked for nefarious political purposes. Kejriwal has tried to turn the tables on the BJP’s apparent obsession with the protests in Shaheen Bagh by asking why Shah and the home ministry have failed to clear blocked roads and remove the protesters.
Mostly, though, Kejriwal has tried not to rise to the BJP’s bait. “In the last five years,” he said, “these people [the BJP] have made me suffer. There were raids at my residence, my office, and various charges and cases were filed against me. I have tried to be a son to every family in Delhi and take responsibility for my family. I now leave it to the people of Delhi to decide whether they consider me their son, their brother, or a terrorist.” The BJP, meanwhile, has doubled down, with the likes of Yogi Adityanath mocking the Shaheen Bagh protesters and Kejriwal on communal lines; bizarrely, Union minister Prakash Javadekar claimed Kejriwal was a self-declared anarchist and there was no difference between an anarchist and a terrorist. Meanwhile, the Delhi Police declared a link, eagerly seized on by Javadekar, between a man who shot at anti-CAA protesters at Shaheen Bagh while mouthing Hindutva rhetoric and AAP, seemingly on the strength of a photograph in which he is at an AAP event. The shooter’s father denied any link, but the seed was sown.
Despite the BJP’s repeated attempts to drag campaign rhetoric to fresh lows, at least one opinion poll suggested AAP was still on course for a substantial victory. Former AAP leader
“Kejriwal can’t provide clean drinking water to the people of Delhi... but the Kejriwal government provides biryani to the people in Shaheen Bagh”
Yogi Adityanath injected communal poison into the Delhi elections with regular references to (Shaheen Bagh), biryani and bullets as a means to quell dissent
“I want to ask Kejriwal whether he is in favour of apprehending Sharjeel Imam or not? Are you with the people of Shaheen Bagh or not, please tell the people of Delhi”
Home minister Amit Shah joined the UP chief minister and even the prime minister, in making Shaheen Bagh a stand-in for those opposed to India
“I now leave it to the people of Delhi to decide whether they consider me their son, their brother, or a terrorist”
Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal made an emotional response to the BJP’s persistent name-calling. But he stopped short of offering full support for the legitimate act of political protest
Ashutosh, a journalist and political commentator, argues that “it would be idiotic to allow the BJP to play on its pitch”. Sanjay Kumar, director of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, suggests that AAP “has been silent over national issues” because it is to their advantage to keep issues local. If, by the time you read this, AAP has succeeded, perhaps they will have made a more important point. As Sanjay Singh said: “Does the BJP have a monopoly on nationalism? We are nationalists too. We believe a nation will be strong when its schools and hospitals are good.” ■