In just about 24-hours Delhi would know who would be its rulers, (of its 70-member assembly) —whether it would be the Congress party which had a long innings of being power, many times uninterrupted or the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which has a strong backing of none other than India’s flamboyant Prime Minister Narendra Modi or the fledgling, rookie, just three year into the game, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)—the new kid on the block– a product of an anti-corruption movement?
Many of us here have formed opinions already; thanks to the media outflow or rather an overflow of news and views and the sneak pre-views offered by the ‘’agencies’’ predicting the unpredictable—the results, before they would be out. Some of these verdicts of the exit polls are:
C-Voter: AAP is expected to get 31 to 39 seats, BJP 27 to 35, Congress 2 to 4
ABP-Nielsen: AAP is expected to get 39, BJP 28 and Congress 3
Cicero: AAP is expected to get 39 seats, BJP 26 and Congress 3
News Nation: AAP is expected to get 39 to 43 seats, BJP 25 to 29 and Congress 1 to 3
India News: AAP is expected to get 53 seats, BJP 17, Congress 0
News 24-Today’s Chanakya: AAP is expected to get 44 seats, BJP 22 and Congress 0.
These predictions point to just one direction —an AAP landslide victory, despite Modi rubbishing such outlook from exit polls.
Another interesting point that one of the agencies, Today’s Chanakya came out with a per cent age of voters divided through caste and community lines viz.—the Baniyas (traders); Brahmins (traditionally on top of the social ladder by virtue of their birth) ;Punjabi (constituting of the erstwhile migrant community, displaced during the 1947 partition of the sub-continent, and now engaged in trading and business activities mainly), the Muslims (living on the fringes of the capital, mostly in ghettos); the OBCs (other backward classes, like the dominant farming/pastoral communities like Jats, Yadavas, Gujjars etc.) and the SCs (Scheduled castes who are supposed to be at the bottom of the social pyramid).
All the six groups, examined by the agency comes out with just one pointer—these groups have also voted for AAP in an unprecedented show of solidarity. Notable among them are the Muslims, 71% of them have gone for AAP the polls show. Here is a break-up below:
Yes, the writing on the wall is clear that AAP is all set to form the government in all probabilities and the opposition, BJP and the Congress are hoping for a hung assembly. It must be recalled that Delhi, for centuries has been wooed and annexed and controlled and adorned over the past. This historic and traditional power centre have been eyed by subsequent rulers not only as a capital city but as a vantage point of their imperial systems where the vast expanse of the sub-continent could be controlled.
Today, the denizens of the city are an exhausted lot, tired of the scheming, plotting and rampant politicking of its current rulers, the politicians. Not much to look forward to, especially after a series of corruption scandals rocking the nation and its rulers, mainly from the ranks of the Congress led United Progressive Alliance (UPA), voter’s today are ready to take a risk and a plunge along with political nobody’s who are promising to cleanse the system (how fast, is still has to be time-tested) and promising to give a fresh new experience (pleasant of course).
Women’s safety, infrastructure, housing, improving the police force etc. are on top of the agenda of the people and so are they figuring in AAPs agenda. The party has been quick to adopt the name AAP or the Aam Aadmi Party or the people’s party with an all-encompassing hand broom for a symbol an expression of its intent to cleanse the system. All these have connected with the electorate and many have identified themselves with this party of change already especially in Delhi which in turn have made inroads into heavy vote banks of the poor, the middle class and the Muslims. The party has sizeable support in other metros too.
Thus it is no rocket science that AAP has gained from strength to strength, despite many predictions that the party has splintered and demoralized after its leader Arvind Kejriwal squandered away a bright chance after it won the mandate to rule last year in the same elections. In a second chance that could come its way that the electorate in Delhi has given to the party which has today forced its rivals to play the ball on a back-foot.
It may not be pre-mature to state that AAP is more of an idea whose time has come and its victory could bring in sweeping changes not seen ever in the chequered landscape of Indian politics.