Cong’s fate in Delhi hangs in balance
NEWDELHI: The Congress on Monday put up a brave face, saying the exit polls, which have predicted a maximum of just one seat for them in Delhi Assembly elections, could not be taken as “gospel truth” and exuded confidence that the party will be able to improve its tally. The party did not win any seat in the 2015 assembly polls.
Delhi went to polls on February 8 and the counting of votes will be taken up on Tuesday.
The party’s incharge for Delhi PC Chacko on Monday said that they may not be forming the government, but they were confident of performing better than the projections in the exit polls.
“We will definitely improve. Moreover, the exit polls are not the gospel truth. We are confident of winning a few seats,” said Chacko.
However, many other Congress leaders said that if they end up with no representation in the assembly for the second time in a row, their plans for revival in Delhi could take a major hit.
“It is a matter of worry, especially because the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are vying for the same vote bank. If voters have moved to an alternative, it tmeans that they did not think we have anything extra to offer,” said a senior All India Congress Committee (AICC) leader.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a senior party leader who is also contesting elections said all blame cannot be put on “AAP wave”. The leader said “if the senior leadership wanted they could have put in more efforts” on campaigning.
“Till the last leg of the elections, no one was talking about the Congress. The AAP and the BJP were both campaigning with their most senior and popular leaders, but we had the big rallies only at the fag end of the campaign,” said the leader.
Members of the party’s central leadership also said it is not just the party’s future at stake, but also the political careers of several party heavyweights .
After losing the election in 2015, former MLAS such as Mateen Ahmed, Mukesh Sharma, AK Walia and Narendra Nath — who have held their seats for multiple terms—were given tickets from their home turfs this time. The BJP, too, was banking on a good show by the Congress, at least on some seats, to dethrone the AAP as they were confident that the party could cut into the AAP votes.
Tanvir Aijaz, political scientist and professor at Delhi University’s Ramjas College, said if the Congress wants to bounce back they will have to come up with a strong narrative to counter the AAP and the BJP in Delhi.
“They will need a two-pronged narrative to counter the AAP and the BJP strongly. To fight the elections on Sheila Dikshit’s work was not a great move, especially in view of the fact that the AAP came to politics by discrediting her government. The voters bought the AAP narrative in 2015 itself,” Aijaz said.