Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP’s historic victory in Punjab 2022 is indeed the beginning of a new chapter for the party. However, the reasons behind this victory are multiple. The biggest reasons are a massive anti-incumbency movement against Congress and the public’s lack of trust in the existing political parties of the state. Considering the growth of the AAP, it is necessary to determine if the party’s founder and national convener, Arvind Kejriwal is capable of winning elections on his own.
It is also crucial to understand the reach of the Delhi Model of Governance, which has been the AAP’s main election plank. For many reasons, in this situation, Arvind Kejriwal’s greatest battle will be winning the Delhi Municipal Corporation elections. Ever since the AAP was formed and contested the election, it has lost MCD. Despite governing Delhi, the party has had a disastrous record in MCD and Lok Sabha polls. Kejriwal’s victory in the MCD will give the AAP an edge in also winning seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi in 2024. Kejriwal will also become the party’s undisputed leader once both MCD and state government fall under AAP.
Also Read: AAP Gujarat Chief Writes: Not Just Congress, AAP is Alternative for BJP Too
How MCD Was Trifurcated By Congress
In India, the capital city Delhi has a trifurcated governance structure and is not a full state. This includes the Central Government, Delhi Government and the MCDs. All three agencies are independent and have well-defined functions. In the MCD, the Bharatiya Janata Party has been in power for more than 15 years. The power struggle within the MCD is not new. Ex-chief minister Sheila Dikshit and the Congress party decided to divide the unified MCD in 2012. The goal was to keep the Bharatiya Janata Party out of the MCD. However, the opposite happened.
The power struggle within the MCD is not new. Ex-chief minister Sheila Dikshit and the Congress party decided to divide the unified MCD in 2012. The goal was to keep the Bharatiya Janata Party out of the MCD. However, the opposite happened.
Meanwhile, due to this unplanned trifurcation, the three MCDs became crippled with a high number of employees but significantly lesser funds. Every year Delhi witnesses massive protests of the employees of the MCD demanding their salaries. In contrast to the BJP’s claims that the AAP government has not been releasing funds, the AAP government claims that the BJP has misappropriated funds. This is a never-ending battle that eventually creates havoc in the lives of MCD employees. MCD employees protested incessantly during the COVID-19 pandemic and demanded their salaries.
Why Does BJP Want Reunification Of MCDs
The Bharatiya Janata Party Delhi unit has been demanding the unification of the three MCDs. However, the central leadership of the party was not much interested. After the Punjab victory of the AAP, the Modi government has decided to reunify the three MCDs.
As a result of reunification, the MCD will have only one mayor, and this person will have tremendous power and can be a shadow chief minister. The BJP wants to bank on this position to rebuild its organisation and fight the future elections. The Bharatiya Janata Party does not have a strong regional face in Delhi. Banking on the mayor post, the party would like to establish a strong leader who can lead them in the upcoming general election and also in the Vidhan Sabha election. This is why Kejriwal fears that if AAP loses MCD once again then BJP will become stronger in the state.
Why Does Kejriwal Want Election Before Reunification
Arvind Kejriwal and the AAP want the MCD election first and they are not actively talking about reunification. There is an anti-incumbency against the BJP ruled MCDs. The key reason behind the anti-incumbency is the financial mismanagement of the MCD. Kejriwal claims that the MCDs are unable to pay the salaries of their employees because they have gone bankrupt due to corruption. The BJP claims that the AAP government has always played tricks with the fund of the MCDs.
BJP leaders have made the reunification of the MCDs a priority because they want to demonstrate their approach to handling the fund crisis. This decision has put AAP on the backfoot because they are unable to create the counter-narrative.
Why Is MCD Election Personal For Kejriwal?
Earlier, the defeat in Punjab and Uttarakhand was one of the key reasons for AAP’s loss in the Delhi MCD elections 2017. But this time AAP has performed extraordinarily well in the state of Punjab. This might help the party to woo the Punjabi voters of Delhi. Punjabis of Delhi has always been a strong voter base of the BJP.
Kejriwal understands that infighting and power struggles are inevitable with the expansion of the party. Despite being a new political party, the Aam Aadmi Party already has a significant history of infighting. Arvind Kejriwal will have to hold on to the position as undisputed supremo of AAP. This is the only way AAP can expand in other states and also become one of the key opposition parties against the BJP.
Delhi is not a full state. So right now Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann is much more powerful than Kejriwal as an administrator. AAP national convener understands that if he fails to bring the MCDs under him and later again loses all the seven MP seats in Delhi then questions on his capability will arise tomorrow or the day after. This will weaken the party because to hold a party like AAP together in such a crucial juncture of politics one face that can hold everyone together is necessary. And no one in AAP can compete with Kejriwal here. So, for the Delhi CM, the need of the hour is to bring most of the administrative and political control of Delhi under him. The fragmented power in the Capital could become a problem later, and therefore, this MCD election is very personal and crucial for Kejriwal.
The author is an independent journalist based in Kolkata and a former policy research fellow at Delhi Assembly Research Center. He tweets as @sayantan_gh. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication.
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