National parties shoot for gold in battle for Delhi

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Why is there such a hoopla around the Delhi assembly election scheduled to be held in February? The answer is clear: Delhi assembly elections are unique as they have become a prestige match for three national parties. Let’s begin with the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

Its leader Arvind Kejriwal is in the fray and determined to win a fourth term. A lot of water has flown down the Yamuna since he assumed power in Delhi 12 years ago. AAP became a national political party in 2022, after it secured 12.9% of the total votes polled in the Gujarat assembly election.

In Punjab, their government has a clear mandate. AAP is currently the only opposition party other than the Congress to be in power in two states. This fact enthuses those who want a non-Congress, non-BJP government.

But disturbing realities haunt AAP, too. Most of their founding leaders are no longer with the party. The party, which came to power on an anti-corruption agenda, itself has some top leaders facing jail terms on charges of corruption.

This is why AAP leaders went into a public relations overdrive the moment they were released from jail, to turn public opinion back in their favour. The party needs a huge mandate, and not a simple majority, to counter the threat to its government as it fears BJP may lure some of its legislators. They also know a defeat will threaten their political existence.

If AAP manages to form the government for the fourth time in a row in Delhi, Kejriwal can nurse greater ambitions. He can look to expanding to other states and also have better leverage within the INDIA bloc, which is already facing issues. Mamata Banerjee has made it clear that she’s against Congress’s pre-eminent position in the