BJP’s Historic Comeback: Winning the capital after nearly 30-years
The Bharatiya Janata Party (‘BJP’) has at last ended its 27-year dry spell in Delhi winning big and stopping the Aam Aadmi Party’s (‘AAP’) latest 10-year rule. The BJP grabbed 48 out of 70 seats marking a huge win. Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked Delhi's people vowing quick progress under a "double-engine government."
So, what caused this big shift? The middle-class vote played a key role. Delhi's middle-class homes, tired of the incumbent AAP, preferred the BJP's offers of tax cuts and growth focused monetary policies. The recent Budget's income tax cuts and consumption focussed reforms really helped to boost sentiment.
The party also played its hand to capitalise on the drop in confidence in the AAP. They deployed Modi and other prominent politicians: Amit Shah, Yogi Adityanath, and Himanta Biswa Sarma to slam the AAP for scandals and mismanagement.
A split opposition also helped the BJP. AAP and Congress, who had teamed up before for the Lok Sabha polls, went their own ways for the Delhi elections. With both contesting all 70 seats, anti-BJP votes got split. It was remarkable that Congress won none of the 70 seats, proving that the BJP have little credible opposition.
Ultimately, the Modi effect played a significant role. Remarkably, the BJP decided not to announce a candidate for Chief Minister and simply put the party as an option on the ballot sheet. This would allow the BJP to choose the Chief Minister after the election. They were banking on Modi's leadership and his commitment to enhancing growth to attract voters. This approach ultimately proved successful. The residents of Delhi appeared to have shifted their support, giving the BJP another opportunity to govern for the first time this century.
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