Delhi MCD elections: A crucial battle in BJP-AAP perception war

With the unification of the three municipal corporations of Delhi this time the battle has much political significance. While the MCD election will expose the real effect of the massive corruption charges against the Aam Aadmi Party, it will also give the BJP a platform to further strategise its politics against Arvind Kejriwal. If the AAP loses this election, then Kejriwal will have to face a setback in terms of governance as well because this time the mayor of MCD will be as powerful as the Chief Minister. The election will be held on 4 December, and the Delhi Municipal Corporation now has 250 wards. Aam Aadmi Party and Bharatiya Janata Party are at odds because the Congress party is no longer present in Delhi. Delhi’s status as India’s capital has significant political implications. This is why the capital’s civic election is so important. If the Aam Aadmi Party wins this election, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has already made ten promises or guarantees to Delhi residents. The city’s beautification, better roads, the ending landfill sites, and an MCD free of corruption are among the main pledges. Meanwhile, the BJP released a chargesheet against the Arvind Kejriwal government claiming their misgovernance over the past eight years. Delhi’s power structure The unique power structure of Delhi is what gives the MCD election political significance for both the AAP and the BJP. Delhi is a union territory but not a full state. The Delhi government has limited authority because of this. Delhi’s power is divided into three parts. The Delhi government has control over a number of issues, including those relating to health, education, electricity, and water. Law and order, land, and bureaucracy are all under the control of the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, who serves as the central government’s representative in Delhi. The Delhi Municipal Corporation is in charge of managing issues with sanitization, waste disposal, buildings, roads, and other things. If AAP wins the MCD elections, the entire corporation will fall under their control along with the Delhi government, giving them control over half of Delhi’s power. The AAP only controls a third of Delhi’s power at the moment. The BJP, which also controls significant elements of the government including law and order, land, and bureaucracy in India’s national capital, believes that if they can keep the MCD, then half of Delhi’s power will be under their control. Beyond Delhi Government Aam Aadmi Party sources claim that despite the party’s growth across India, Arvind Kejriwal’s influence has only extended to the Delhi government, which the party predicts will lead to problems in the near future. A senior AAP leader on the condition of anonymity said, “First of all, Gujarat is a glaring example of how we are expanding across India. Punjab is our second home after Delhi, though. Arvind Kejriwal has limited power as a result of the capital’s distinctive power structure, which is bad for the national convenor of a party. Second, due to the limited power in Delhi, the party is unable to operate freely. We will be able to bring more developments to the city with the MCD operating under the AAP.” Meanwhile, BJP sources have said that the central leadership of the party wants the unit to be stronger. A senior BJP leader who did not want to be identified said, " The party’s national leadership takes the Delhi BJP unit very seriously. We have in fact performed poorly in the assembly elections over the last few years. While it is true that Arvind Kejriwal misled the public by telling numerous lies, we have also been unsuccessful in exposing these lies. But now that the corruption of the Kejriwal administration has been revealed by the government’s agencies, it is imperative that we win back the public’s trust. The MCD election is significant to the BJP because of this." Arvind Kejriwal’s ambition Arvind Kejriwal wants to take the AAP across India following its historic victory in the Punjab assembly elections. The party is attempting to fill the void left by Congress in the states that the BJP controls. Arvind Kejriwal’s primary objective at the moment is to replace the BJP as the main opposition. However, the party’s fundamental tenet is the Delhi model. The party is experiencing a number of difficulties running the government since Vinai Kumar Saxena was named as the new lieutenant governor. On the one hand, the party is facing numerous corruption allegations, and on the other, the BJP is effectively building a narrative against the AAP. The issue that hurts Arvind Kejriwal the most is corruption. On condition of anonymity, a senior AAP leader stated, “The LG is bringing some charges against the party every day and it is hampering our work. The MCD election is crucial to our cause because it will allow Arvind Kejriwal to connect with the common folk. Similarly, to this, if we gain control of the MCD, we will have the opportunity to further develop our Delhi model. With our current expansion strategy, we also need to expand our Delhi model.” The campaign in Delhi will be led by Arvind Kejriwal, according to sources within the party. He began this campaign by going to the Ghazipur landfill, but now that the dates of the Gujarat and MCD elections are the same, Kejriwal is having trouble. BJP’s game plan The BJP’s top officials have declared that the party will treat the MCD election as a make-or-break contest. Home Minister Amit Shah himself introduced a bill in the parliament to combine the three MCDs. But, according to the BJP leaders, it wasn’t a political move; rather, it was made to help the MCD’s financial situation. “We do not see that the unification of the three municipal corporations of Delhi was a political strategy. The AAP administration and Arvind Kejriwal neglected to pay our dues and ignored the MCDs. Because we lacked the funds, the corporations had to work hard throughout the entire COVID period. The unification was implemented to address this issue.” a senior BJP leader in Delhi said. According to BJP insiders, the MCD unification has given the party a platform to work together against Arvind Kejriwal. Similarly, following the unification, Delhi will now have a single mayor with roughly equal authority to the Chief Minister. The BJP has consistently performed well in the MCD and Lok Sabha elections, but it has struggled in the assembly elections. The BJP is currently hoping to capitalise on the MCD election’s momentum and the anticipated victory in the upcoming assembly elections. “We currently have a sort of three-point agenda for the MCD elections,” a senior Delhi BJP leader who spoke on the record said. He further added, “First and foremost, we want to expose Arvind Kejriwal’s deceit, corruption, and poor leadership. Second, through this campaign, we hope to revitalise our grassroots cadre base. Thirdly, if we win the MCD election, we’ll implement our own Delhi model of government. The BJP president and the home minister, among many other prominent leaders, will campaign for us in this conflict. The central leadership is giving us all the assistance it can. We have also asked the Indian Prime Minister to address a rally in Delhi prior to the MCD elections.” Perception politics The Delhi MCD election is crucial because it is a contest of perception. After Arvind Kejriwal won the 2020 Delhi assembly elections, the party began its oppositional campaign against the MCD, which is governed by the BJP. The main focus of this campaign was the alleged corruption committed by BJP leaders during their more than 15-year reign as MCD leaders. The party has asserted time and time again that corruption, not the Delhi government, was to blame for the MCD’s financial crisis. However, the entire corruption angle of the campaign took a hit after the central government introduced the bill to combine the three municipal corporations of Delhi. The BJP has completely changed the situation as of late. The Aam Aadmi Party is now the target of allegations and charges of corruption. Because of this, the MCD elections are a crucial battle in the BJP’s and AAP’s perception war. But Arvind Kejriwal stands to gain more from this election. The AAP campaigned on an anti-corruption platform when it won the elections, but today everyone from its deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia to its health minister Satyendar Jain is being investigated for corruption, and many of them are already in jail. If Arvind Kejriwal loses this election, the AAP will face many challenges in running the Delhi government, and the BJP will have a platform to launch significant campaigns alleging that Delhi residents no longer trust the Aam Aadmi Party. The author is a Columnist and Doctoral Research Scholar In Media & Politics. He tweets @sayantan_gh. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram .