The municipal elections on Sunday will be a test of the popularity of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi.
After a sweeping victory in the 2015 Delhi assembly elections, this is the first time the party will be facing Delhiites in an election. The big question is whether the AAP’s recent losses in Punjab and Goa Assembly elections affects the way Delhi votes.
The recent bypolls in west Delhi’s Rajouri Garden was another major setback for the AAP. Its candidate, Harjeet Singh, a first-timer, did not just lose the elections, but also lost his security deposit.
Rajouri Garden bypoll
AAP leaders are divided on the results. Many senior leaders believe that Delhi’s voters will judge their party by the work its government has done in the last two years.
“Rajouri Garden was a different case. There the people were angry because their MLA had left midway. However, our performance in Punjab and Goa should not affect our reputation here. The people here have a parameter to judge us by,” a senior party leader told The Hindu .
A party legislator, however, said that the bypoll results, the negative publicity for the party with the Shunglu Committee report mentioning irregularities in government functioning, and the notice from the PWD to vacate their party office, may drive voters away.
Political analysts believe that though the AAP has done good work in their two years of governance, the back-to-back losses and the BJP wave in the country is what they will be fighting against.
“All these losses one after another not only affects the voter but also discourages party workers. A win will be a pat in the back for AAP functionaries at all levels. It will send out a message that they are doing something right,” said Sanjay Kumar, political analyst and professor at Centre for the Study of Developing Societies.
Poll promises
Despite the uncertainty, the party says they have some strong issues that they have projected for these elections.
The promise of waiving house tax, introducing subsidies for electricity and water to tenants, and making contractual staff permanent in civic bodies are a few electoral promises that have gone down well with the public.
Reputation at stake
What is at stake for the party is their reputation.
A win will be a huge boost for the party to smoothly sail through the three years they have left in power. A loss, however, will re-establish the BJP-wave in the country, which AAP has been tirelessly trying to fight.
In the municipal by-elections held last year, the AAP won five out of 13 seats that went to polls. The party had swept the 2015 Delhi assembly elections -- winning 67 out of 70 seats.
