The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday announced the schedule of the Delhi Assembly polls 2025, setting the stage for a high-octane election battle between the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The national capital will vote on February 5 and the results will be declared on February 8. The Congress is the third biggest party in Delhi, striving to revive its electoral ground. The grand old party drew nil in the last two elections. It is unlikely that Congress would do any miracle.
As far as the BJP’s poll prospects are concerned in Delhi, the saffron party is hopeful to end the 27-year-long drought riding corruption charges against key leaders of AAP and anti-incumbency.
The BJP is making all-out attempts to come back to power in Delhi after over two decades focussing on its slogan “Parivartan” (change) and a targeted campaign against the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP over scam allegations, including liquor policy case.
Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal announced that if the party wins the Delhi Assembly election due in February, they will give ₹18,000 per month to priests in temples and granthis of gurudwaras under the ‘Pujari Granthi Samman Yojana’.
This announcement by Arvind Kejriwal is a continuation of his welfare schemes for the people of Delhi. He first announced the Sanjeevani scheme for senior citizens, then the Mahila Samman Yojana, and now the monthly salary scheme for priests.
Under the Sanjeevani Yojana, AAP claimed to provide free healthcare for the elderly above 60 years of age while the Mahila Samman Yojana would provide Rs 2,100 in assistance for women.
With Assembly elections in Delhi just a month away, the war of words between AAP and Congress, two key constituents of the Opposition INDIA bloc, intensified, putting others in the grouping in a quandary.
Taking strong objection to AICC treasurer Ajay Maken’s attack on its leader, who branded Kejriwal as Anti National. The AAP asked the Congress to take action against him within 24 hours, failing which it would approach parties of the INDIA bloc to seek the ouster of the Congress from the bloc.
The AAP’s demand surprised the constituents of the embattled alliance, which is already a divided house with a leadership tussle playing out. Watching the political developments in Delhi with dismay, parties of the INDIA bloc pointed out that the alliance would lose its relevance without the Congress but underlined that the Congress as the largest party should take note of the concerns of other parties. At least two parties demanded that the Congress convene a meeting of the INDIA bloc to iron out differences.
The fresh tussle between the AAP and the Congress was over Maken’s remarks against Kejriwal who is the AAP national convenor. The AAP has already ruled out an alliance with the Congress in Delhi and both the parties, which fought the Lok Sabha election in alliance with Delhi and neighboring Haryana, have already announced more than half of their candidates. Reports suggest that Kejriwal is increasingly frustrated with the Congress, which it initially deemed irrelevant in Delhi’s political arena. The Congress party’s reinvigorated presence has surprised many, including Kejriwal, who is now urging the INDIA bloc partners to exclude Congress from the alliance. This shift can be attributed to Congress’s intensified focus on reinstating itself as a formidable force in Delhi.
The shift stems from Congress’s newfound dynamism and a series of strategic moves aimed at recapturing voter interest in Delhi. The party’s vocal opposition to AAP policies ahead of Delhi Assembly election seems to have reignited its relevance, potentially complicating AAP’s electoral calculus. For a party that had been losing ground steadily to AAP and the BJP, Congress’s sudden assertiveness indicates a potential reshuffling of political power dynamics in Delhi.
