The first test for Arvind Kejriwal's political party will be the 2013 Assembly elections in Delhi since the anti-corruption activist is skipping the polls in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat later this year.
Congress had earlier branded the key Anna Hazare team member as a BJP and RSS man, but with his announcement that he is floating a political party himself, the equations seems to have changed.
Suddenly, the Congress is not complaining any more. The question now is whether Kejriwal's yet to be named political outfit could stall Bharatiya Janata Party's ambitions of wresting power from Congress in Delhi after about 15 years.
Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly V K Malhotra believes the BJP will trounce Congress anyway, and Kejriwal and his party will hardly be a factor in the Delhi elections.
“Even as I welcome the formation of the new political party by Arvind Kejriwal, as every one has the right to do in a democratic set up, such parties do not have any future and will not be a factor in the Delhi elections,” Malhotra told Deccan Herald.
Asked whether the presence of the Kejriwal party will not divide the anti-Congress vote, Malhotra said Kejriwal can only damage Congress prospects and not the BJP's.
“Kejriwal has always been attacking the Congress and even today he said his party will cut water supply to the chief minister's residence. So, he is trying to create an anti-Congress atmosphere which will only benefit the BJP as the main opposition party,” said Malhotra.
He said since the BJP has not been in power in Delhi since last 14 years, it is not responsible for all that is wrong in the Capital.
But the Congress doesn't believe that Kejriwal can eat into its vote bank.
“Except haveing a nuisance value, Arvind Kejriwal or his party will not have any effect in the elections. Personally speaking, I don't think anybody will waste their vote by voting for him,” said Mukesh Sharma, Congress MLA from Uttam Nagar.
Sharma said the Congress had better things to do than worry about Kejriwal's party.
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