Congress-AAP talks to decide matrix of Delhi elections
Even today I want to say with full authority that the Congress is ready for an alliance with the AAP, provided it sticks to the discussions we had corresponding to our strength in Delhi
P.C. Chacko,
Congress leader
Despite being the headquarters of the three main political parties contesting the Lok Sabha election in Delhi, the city wears a desolate look. I was expecting to see a sea of saffron as I drove home from the airport. Instead, politicians and parties were conspicuous by their absence. There were no flyers, no hoardings, no miniature party flags being sold at traffic lights. But that wasn’t always the case. More than 63,000 public hoardings were pulled down just two weeks ago, shortly after the election dates were announced.
Delhi’s constituencies will be among the 59 seats that go to polls on May 12 in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha election. The capital sends seven members of Parliament to the lower house. In 2014, all seven were from the Bharatiya Janata Party, with the party claiming more than 46 per cent of the total votes cast, compared to a measly 15 per cent for the Congress. The Aam Aadmi Party had secured nearly 35 per cent votes. In the 2009 election, all seven MPs were from the Congress. But it’s unlikely that either party will have a sweeping win in the city this time.
With alliance talks between the Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress failing, Delhi is likely to see a three-sided fight. The Congress on Friday announced that it would contest the election alone, but was open to joining hands with the AAP provided the alliance was restricted only to Delhi.
The AAP, it is said, wanted the alliance to extend to Punjab and Haryana as well, something the Congress did not agree to. Soon after the talks failed, both parties accused each other of splitting the anti-BJP vote. The AAP was even confident that Congress candidates would “lose their deposits”. Both parties are, however, ready to go back to the negotiating table
should the other party change its stance. Together, these two parties got 50 per cent of the vote share in the last Lok Sabha election, more than what the BJP managed. This arithmetic will be playing on the back of the minds of both parties as the election date draws closer. An AAP-Congress alliance would be able to deal a blow to BJP’s prospects.
The candidates
The AAP had way back in March announced candidates for six of the seven seats.
The party will field Atishi from East Delhi, Raghav Chaddha from South Delhi, Pankaj Gupta from Chandni Chowk, Dilip Pandey from North East Delhi, Gugan Singh from North West Delhi and Brajesh Goel from the New Delhi seat.
The Congress was likely to announce its candidates on April 13, but according to reports names for four seats have already been finalised.
Kapil Sibal is likely to represent the party from Chandni Chowk, Ajay Maken from New Delhi, Jai Prakash Agarwal from North East Delhi and Raj Kumar Chauhan from North West Delhi.
While the AAP and the Congress were busy with their alliance talks, the BJP maintained a wait-andwatch approach. With the talks having failed, the BJP is unlikely to make any major changes, and it shouldn’t be a surprise if most sitting MPs are fielded. Gautam Gambhir, who joined the BJP in March, may contest the election from one of the seats.
The AAP and the Congress have made demonetisation their core agenda, while the BJP is harping on its anti-terror stance while giving ad spaces to national infrastructure projects and highway development, among others.
These issues, however, fail to cut it with the local voters. For them, full statehood of Delhi, the traffic situation in the city, a buzzing manufacturing industry in the heart of the capital, a filthy Yamuna river bed which overflows every time it rains, the lack of implementation of waste disposal policies, entry of heavy vehicles into the city, lack of road development and maintenance, and safety of women and elderly remain the main issues.
Full statehood of Delhi would help address two major issues in the city. It would bring the Delhi Police under the control of the state government. Right now, the Delhi Police comes under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
It would also bring uniformity in the management of the city’s road network, which is at the moment split between the PWD, the MCD and the Centre.
Who will people vote for?
An AAP-Congress alliance could swing votes in their favour. It would also improve AAP’s national prospects, considering Delhi is home to a large migratory population from states such as Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Punjab. Delhi has rarely voted along caste lines anyway, always choosing the regional sentiment instead. A tie-up with the Congress could mean the possibility of inroads into these states at a later stage.
Moreover, without an alliance, the AAP has a bleak chance of making it to the Lok Sabha from Delhi, considering the Congress is fielding candidates who have either previously won from their respective seats, or have been prominent ministers during Sheila Dikshit’s reign.
The Congress’ prospects itself would improve should they field three-time chief minister Sheila Dikshit. She is being persuaded by the party, and it is said that Congress president Rahul Gandhi would himself campaign for her should she decide to contest. The 81-year-old, who is also the state party chief, is yet to take a call.