by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group
Special Report
BJP struggling to formulate winning strategy
As Kejriwal Praises Modi, supports Article 370
Javadekar working overtime to turn tide
Harish Gupta
New Delhi, Sep 15
The BJP leadership may be on 7th Heaven in Haryana, Maharashtra and Jharkhand going to polls in October-November. But its plate is full of problems when it comes to Delhi.
Sensing trouble ahead, the party has replaced Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman with senior leader and Cabinet Minister Prakash Javadekar, as incharge of Delhi affairs. Though Assembly polls are five months away. But Javadekar is holding district wise meetings seeking suggestions to formulate a winning strategy on a daily basis. The BJP has not won Delhi Assembly for the past 21 years.
The challenge before the party is how to counter the sops and freebies offered by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Javadekar has advised the local leadership not to unnecessarily criticise Kejriwal’s welfare schemes. The level of anti-incumbency against the Kejriwal government is still being assessed. The BJP is also baffled as to why Kejriwal has stopped criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi by name for the past couple of months. The AAP even voted in favour of abrogation of Article 370 in Parliament.
The BJP's another serious problem is whether it should project a chief ministerial candidate during the assembly polls or make it BJP vs Kejriwal. The BJP had burnt its fingers when it projected Kiran Bedi as CM face and lost badly in January 2015.
When a BJP leader, who wanted relief for residents of unauthorised colonies, Javadekar advised them not to talk to the media on the issue. The government was alive of it and responding, he said. Unauthorised colonies are a major vote-bank in Delhi, as they are home to 30-35 per cent of the city’s population.
Javadekar directed the local leadership to launch a full-blown attack on the Congress over corruption and Chidambaram the poster boy of the Congress. The BJP suspects that Congress and AAP will have some tacit understanding and wants to convert it into an opportunity.
Ends
