Stunning defeat for Modi’s party in New Delhi elections
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist party has been handed a stunning defeat by a regional party in elections in the national capital that were seen as a referendum on his policies, including a new national citizenship law that excludes Muslims.
Sunday’s New Delhi legislative elections pit Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party against the incumbent Aam Aadmi Party, or “common man’s” party, whose policies focused on fixing state-run schools and providing cheap electricity, free health care and bus transport for women during its five years in power.
Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah appealed to majority Hindus by focusing on national issues such as the citizenship law, which triggered widespread protests, at the expense of problems facing the capital’s millions of residents.
At least 23 people were killed in clashes between police and protesters against the law in December.
With counting of votes almost complete, the Aam Aadmi Party, or AAP, had won 52 seats and was leading in another 10 of the 70 constituencies, while the BJP had won six seats and was leading in another two, the Election Commission said. The Congress party, led by Sonia Gandhi, was unlikely to win any seats. Full results were expected today. The defeat was a setback to Modi’s prestige, coming less than eight months after he led the BJP to a resounding victory in national elections. The party won all seven of the capital’s parliamentary seats in those polls.
The victory was a major boost for AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, the 51-year-old incumbent New Delhi chief minister and anti-corruption crusader. Kejriwal joined hundreds of his supporters in celebrating the party’s performance. In a brief speech. he said the election “has given birth to a new brand of politics — politics of development” to meet people’s basic needs.
Local BJP leader Manoj Tewari denied the AAP accusation that his party had tried to create a HinduMuslim divide during the elections. Hindus comprise more than 80 per cent of India’s 1.3 billion people and Muslims about 14 per cent.
Kejriwal launched his party in 2012 and campaigned to rid the political system and government of corruption and inefficiency.