Delhi Conquered, AAP Proves Why Water, Electricity, Education And Not Politics Of Hatred Sway People

바카라�The new politics is the Kejriwal model of development,바카라� says AAP campaigner Jasmine Shah, who is vice chairperson of the Delhi government바카라�s  dialogue and development commission. 바카라�This is a brand of politics where the government relentlessly focuses on people바카라�s basic necessities바카라�water, electricity, education. The Delhi government has already set a benchmark in health and education, with many state governments emulating it. AAP stands for an alternative brand of patriotism and nationalism that is not built around hatred,바카라� adds Shah, who is also a member of the party바카라�s manifesto committee.

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While the Congress drew a blank, losing its deposit in 63 of the 66 seats it contested, the BJP bagged eight seats with 38.51 per cent votes, improving its tally from three with 32.2 per cent votes in 2015. 바카라�Voters have made a clear distinction between national and state elections,바카라� says ­political scientist Sandeep Shastri. 바카라�AAP won even though the BJP had swept the Lok Sabha election only last year, winning all the Delhi seats. This is a clear trend indicating that the popular perception of governance matters. It also shows that people look for a credible face leading the party they vote for.바카라�

Though the BJP began its campaign by talking of unauthorised colonies and central welfare schemes, it shifted focus to Shaheen Bagh and the anti-CAA protests in the last few weeks. 바카라�The BJP tried to puncture our narrative on what our government has done so far, but realised it can바카라�t make a dent on AAP,바카라� says AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj, who won the Greater Kailash seat for the third consecutive time. 바카라�The more Kejriwal is targeted, the more it helps him. That바카라�s why the BJP changed gears and shifted to polarisation. Their agenda of communalising Delhi politics proved costly in the end.바카라�

Bharadwaj concedes it wasn바카라�t easy to desist from responding to the BJP바카라�s hyper-nationalist campaign. 바카라�Parties and politicians believe you need a kind of caste combination, polarisation or emotive issue to win elections. It was a tough decision to seek votes only on the basis of what our government has done so far,바카라� he says.

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Admitting that AAP바카라�s victory would be interpreted as the defeat of a ­campaign based on hatred, Gilles Verniers, assistant professor of political science at Ashoka University, warns against 바카라�simplistic binaries바카라� as 바카라�multiple factors guide electoral behaviour바카라�. 바카라�There are other factors besides their election pitch that went against the BJP: weak leadership, factionalism, the baggage of being in the Opposition for 20 years. The result won바카라�t really tell us what people feel or think about the issues raised by the BJP. Many of those who voted BJP in the last general elections and continue to support the Narendra Modi government are reported to have chosen AAP in the state election,바카라� adds Verniers.

Observers say that AAP바카라�s strategic move of not directly attacking PM Modi in its campaign and supporting his government on contentious issues such as abrogation of Article 370 shows that its ideological positions are somewhat flexible. 바카라�AAP decided to not respond to the BJP바카라�s provocations, which would have amounted to taking the bait,바카라� says Verniers. 바카라�Had the Delhi CM decided to support the protestors at Shaheen Bagh or the students of JNU, it would have alienated many AAP voters who don바카라�t care about the protests, besides preventing AAP from campaigning on its own terms instead of those set by the BJP. This was a good political move.바카라�

Kejriwal바카라�s 바카라�right-of-centre바카라� approach also dictated his invocation of the Hanuman Chalisa and his party바카라�s alignment with the BJP on Article 370. Kejriwal has been criticised for playing along with the BJP on wearing one바카라�s religious identity on the sleeves, and for cautiously sidestepping questions on Shaheen Bagh. His ambiguous stand on CAA and the National Register of Citizens has baffled his detractors too.

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바카라�He consciously adopted a right-of-centre position so that the BJP could not claim a monopoly over Hindustan,바카라� says Shastri. 바카라�It바카라�s strategically interesting. The BJP appeared to monopolise the Ram Mandir issue. AAP decided to focus on Hanuman rather than Ram. Hanuman is more acceptable to the minority community, and represents devotion, faith, courage and also the underdogs. In a sense, Kejriwal plugged the holes of the BJP.바카라�

A senior AAP leader, however, doesn바카라�t agree that Kejriwal is toeing a Hindutva line. 바카라�The criticism that Kejriwal is peddling soft Hindutva arises because people don바카라�t understand Hindutva, which is using Hinduism for political gain. Kejriwal is a believing Hindu. He was asked to recite the Hanuman Chalisa and he did it,바카라� he says. 바카라�Has Kejriwal ever asked people to vote for him in the name of Hanuman and Ram? He hasn바카라�t. His faith and belief system are very personal to him. He visits a Hanuman temple before he files his nomination. It was only this time that it got highlighted because the BJP took it up and said they alone have the right to name our gods.바카라�

Kejriwal바카라�s three assembly election wins have fuelled talk of consolidation of regional leaders at the national level. Coming after the assembly elections in Jharkhand and Maharashtra, where the BJP had to eat humble pie, AAP바카라�s Delhi victory has rejuvenated the idea of a federal front again. However, observers feel that Kejriwal will remain a Delhi phenomenon despite his popularity as he has already burnt his finger with AAP바카라�s Punjab and Goa experiments.

바카라�AAP is caught in the following conundrum: it improves its prospects at home when it does not seek to expand its imprint beyond the borders of the capital.바카라� says Verniers. 바카라�Since the MCD elections of 2017, AAP has changed gears on its systematic opposition to the BJP. It stopped projecting ambitions to build an organisation outside Delhi, focusing instead on local issues and day-to-day governance. They may be tempted to try expansion again, but it hasn바카라�t worked so far, barring a few pockets in Punjab. AAP바카라�s base and platform is currently insufficient to build up a national or even trans-state organisation. It cannot carve space for itself only by going after the BJP. It is more likely to do so by denting into vote bases of the regional parties or the Congress.바카라�

Shastri says Kejriwal is doing 바카라�mainstream politics바카라� even though AAP started out with 바카라�alternative politics바카라�. 바카라�Where바카라�s the anti-corruption crus­ade? Look at the way they have given tickets in the assembly elections. Look at the number of crorepatis in their list. Nobody is going to buy their argument of alternative politics anymore. They are an alternative within mainstream politics,바카라� he adds. As an AAP leader puts it, 바카라�Kejriwal is the politician India needs. He represents the modern face of politics.바카라�