BJP supporters outside Delhi BJP office in New Delhi on February 8.
| Photo Credit: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap
It was not just the anti-incumbency but consistently cornering the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over corruption charges, civic issues and poor infrastructure, micromanaging the election campaign through hundreds of grassroots meetings, and targeting women, Purvanchali and JJ cluster vote bank through poll promises that led the BJP to break its 28-year-old jinx in the Capital and trounce AAP by bagging a whopping 48 of 70 seats.
The BJP had secured just three seats in 2015 and 8 in the 2020 Assembly elections despite winning all seven Delhi Lok Sabha seats since 2014.
Learning from its mistake of targeting AAP over free electricity, power, and bus tickets to women, which it had termed ‘free ki revdi’ (freebies), the BJP changed its strategy. In its manifesto, it too promised several schemes, including direct cash transfer to women, a party leader said.
Along with the traditional methods of campaigning, with heavyweights attending large rallies, local party leaders focused on smaller meetings. A BJP leader said the party conducted over 5,000 micro meetings, including ‘drawing room’ gatherings.
However, a key message that worked in the BJP’s favour was its relentless attacks on AAP, slowly eroding the party and its chief, Arvind Kejriwal, ’s “honest image”.
The BJP ran a campaign demanding Mr. Kejriwal’s resignation when he was jailed last year in connection with the alleged excise policy scam. Parallely, it held another campaign against the AAP’s national convener for allegedly spending over Rs. 200 crore to renovate the Chief Minister’s residence at 6 Flagship Road, popularly dubbed ‘Sheesh mahal’.
BJP Delhi election in-charge and MP Baijayant Panda told The Hindu that to make the battle tough for AAP, the party fielded heavyweights like Parvesh Sahib Singh against Mr. Kejriwal, and it brought the desired results.
The party also made a push to appeal to the AAP’s core voter base in JJ clusters by announcing schemes for women, auto drivers, and gig workers. To gain their confidence, BJP’s senior leaders spent nights in rural areas and slum clusters ahead of the poll.
Before the poll announcement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi handed over the house keys to over 1,600 slum dwellers in Ashok Nagar in east Delhi who were rehabilitated under a central government scheme.
During the final days of campaigning, the party’s senior leadership, including Mr. Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, hit the ground, along with the Chief Ministers of various BJP-ruled States, who held over 20 rallies each.
A source said the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological parent of the BJP, played a vital role in ensuring the party’s landslide victory. It held a backdoor campaign by organising micro and closed door meetings and helped in bringing the illegal Bangladeshi and Rohingya migrants into the poll narrative.
For the BJP, this victory was more than just coming to power. The source added that senior party leadership saw it as a fight for dignity, as they had remained out of power in the Capital for 26 years and had won single-digit seats against AAP.
Published – February 09, 2025 02:00 am IST