AAP's landslide win in Delhi: International media hails 'upstart anti-corruption Common man party'

Washington/London: International media on Tuesday described Aam Aadmi Party’s stunning electoral triumph over the BJP in Delhi as a “political earthquake”, taking a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meteoric rise to the helm by saying — “After all, what goes up must come down.” The New York Times dubbed BJP’s defeat, less than a year after the party’s victory in the polls at the centre, as a “smaller political earthquake”. [caption id=“attachment_2091017” align=“alignleft” width=“380” class=" “]  Arvind Kejriwal waves to crowds in Delhi. PTI[/caption] “Less than a year after Narendra Modi won a historic victory to become India’s new prime minister, a smaller political earthquake struck the capital on Tuesday, as partial results indicated that Mr Modi’s governing party had been crushed in local elections by a young political organisation led by an anti-corruption campaigner (Arvind Kejriwal),” the daily said. Washington Post termed it as “stunning defeat” at the hands of the “upstart anti-corruption Common Man Party.” “The contest was widely viewed as a measure of Modi’s political clout here. The bitterly fought election for control of the legislative assembly mark the first political setback to Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) since he became prime minister last May,” the paper said. “Riding on Modi’s soaring popularity, the BJP had won in a number of state elections in recent months, and they were expected to repeat their success Tuesday — a phenomenon dubbed Modi’s ‘victory chariot’ by the media. But Delhi proved to be a tough battle for the BJP because of the appeal of the charismatic Kejriwal, a former tax officer-turned anti-corruption activist,” it said. CNN invoked Isaac Newton’s physics principle to take a jibe at Modi, saying, “This week New Delhi will be talking about a very different scientific discipline: physics. After all, what goes up must come down.” “Since winning a broad mandate in national elections last May, and then repeating the feat in state elections across the country, India’s ruling BJP has suffered a rude shock in Delhi’s state elections,” the major US news channel said. BBC also highlighted that this was the “first major setback for Prime Minister Modi who has enjoyed huge popularity since taking office last year, winning a string of local elections and wooing international investors and world leaders.” London’s ‘The Telegraph’ termed BJP’s defeat in the Delhi polls, in which the Congress drew a blank, as a “humiliating landslide” while Guardian described the stunning result as a “blow for Modi”. PTI