BJP raised national issues in MCD polls, AAP sold “double-engine” model

Post the drubbing, BJP leaders were quick to blame it on natural anti-incumbency after being in power for 15 years. The saffron party is also likely to dismiss this as just a local body election though it had put all its might- barring Prime Minister Narendra Modi campaigning- to continue being in the saddle.

BJP does well in the seven Lok Sabha seats during the general elections but fails to replicate this trend in the Assembly where it has been out of power since 1998. The weaknesses have now percolated down to the corporation level.

Sensing defeat, the BJP-led Modi government had merged the three local bodies into one in March by passing the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill in Parliament. The legislation had also reduced the total strength from 272 to 250 seats.
BJP could win only 104 seats this time while AAP got 134 (8 more than the half-way mark) out of 250 seats.

Party insiders say there is intense infighting in the Delhi BJP unit. No state unit president appointed in recent years has been tall or competent enough to carry the party together. With leaders pulling in different directions, even the central leadership has failed to get results.

BJP ran a high-decibel campaign in the MCD elections with party chief JP Nadda, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to party chief ministers like Yogi Adityanath and Himanta Biswa Sarma campaigning and participating in road shows. But the focus on national issues, polarization and internal security did not gel with the electorate.

While BJP was no match to the Sheila Dikshit-led Congress, it is now faced with another formidable challenge in Kejriwal. The Delhi Chief Minister used BJP tactics along with his own tricks to win this poll. In the MCD elections, he used the BJP argument of “double-engine” government at the Centre and in the states for smooth delivery of welfare schemes and insisted that a BJP corporator will hinder his efforts.

Kejriwal also used local issues from cleaning up Delhi to making building plan processes and property records online. AAP’s thrust on ending corruption in MCD and ending parking woes of Delhites also struck a chord among the people.

BJP tried to counter this through attacks on AAP ministers like Satyendra Jain through sting videos of him having access to outside food which was effectively rubbished by Kejriwal.

Most importantly, Kejriwal sold his “Delhi model” of governance and promised to improve the infrastructure in government schools and hospitals.

Going local in a local bodies election appears to have worked for AAP. This is a vital lesson for the BJP.