Twin narratives from MCD polls
AAP scores a decisive victory but the subtext of results holds lessons for the BJP and Congress too
All elections have two linked but distinct narratives. The first is based on the numbers. The second is more subliminal, based not only on the hard data but also on margins, issues, expectations and the agenda set. In the Delhi civic elections, these two narratives were unmistakable. As far as numbers go, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was the clear victor, winning a simple majority in the 250member council and breaking the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’S unbroken 15-year streak. It deepened the AAP’S control over the national capital and added fuel to the party’s claim of emerging as a new pole in the national opposition politics and crafting an alternative electoral platform capable of taking on the BJP’S juggernaut. The numbers also showed that the BJP managed to largely hold on to its 2017 vote share but was edged out by the AAP among constituencies with large numbers of urban poor people. And it again underlined that the Congress had faded from what was once its citadel with only small pockets of support and no leader with wide appeal.
But beyond the numbers, too, there were takeaways. The AAP’S comprehensive but narrower-thanexpected victory will give it control over the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), but rob it of the bragging rights that would have helped it take the high ground in the face of a string of corruption allegations and aggressive posturing by the BJP. The results also showed that despite being out of power in the citystate for almost a decade and 15 years of antiincumbency, the BJP continues to mobilise significant support and is well-placed to defend its stranglehold on the Capital’s seven Lok Sabha seats. And it potentially showed an outgunned and outspent Congress a way to rebuild the party’s base in the city, with its strong performances in some seats dominated by minorities who were likely disillusioned with the AAP’S recent trysts with temple politics.
How this election will influence state and national politics is anybody’s guess — will it make parties build more ideologically coherent platforms, or move towards ideologically nebulous but delivery-focussed strategies? For the AAP, civic governance with a slim majority and significant powers vested in the lieutenant-governor will also not be easy. But for a party whose core political appeal rests on a vision of aspiration tied to the schools, clinics, waterlines and electricity poles in Delhi — the AAP campaigned on this in both Punjab and now Gujarat — the MCD win is a moment potent in both symbolism and political intent.