The crisis in Congress’ Delhi unit is an opportunity

On April 28, Delhi Congress chief Arvinder Singh Lovely quit the party and told reporters that he would not be joining any other political party. Six days later, on May 4, Lovely joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He was accompanied by a few other Congress leaders from the Delhi state unit. These developments were on expected lines.

Lovely’s return to the BJP is good riddance for the Congress as the grand old party is at a crucial point in the national capital. After losing power in Delhi in 2013, and at the Centre in 2014, the Congress has been in political wilderness. Now there are signs of a probable revival with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on the backfoot and forced to consider an alliance with the Congress for contesting the seven seats in Delhi for the Lok Sabha polls.

Delhi Chief Minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest by the Enforcement Directorate has certainly helped generate sympathy for the party. Still, it is to be seen as to what extent this will favour the party while the votes are counted. Currently, the BJP holds all seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi.

The Delhi unit of the BJP has been in a state of flux for some time now. This is reflected in the fact that the last time the party was in power in Delhi was way back in 1998. The sidelining of Harsh Vardhan, former Union minister and once the face of the BJP in Delhi, points to unsettled problems in the state unit. Despite this, if the BJP has won all the Lok Sabha seats in Delhi, the credit should go to the party’s central leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.

The AAP-Congress alliance for the Lok Sabha elections is a win-win for both sides, but it has sidelined some leaders in the Congress — and this has led to some (Lovely included) leaving the party. In a way, it is the pressure from the Modi government on AAP that has forced the latter to agree to an alliance with the Congress. This alliance could lead to the revival of the Congress in Delhi.

Shiela Dikshit moment

The Congress in Delhi is witnessing a ‘Shiela Dikshit moment’ in the Rahul Gandhi era. Three decades back, then Congress President Sonia Gandhi sprung a surprise on warring party workers in Delhi by bringing in Shiela Dikshit, a rank outsider, as the party chief. The Congress Delhi unit was witnessing a clash between the H K L Bhagat and Jagdish Tytler groups. The rest is history. Dikshit not only led the revival story, but was also the chief minister for 15 long years. The era also witnessed a lot of development in the national capital. 

Now, the Congress leadership under Mallikarjun Kharge feels that a shakeup is needed in the Congress’ Delhi unit, irrespective of the consequences. The candidature of Kanhaiya Kumar, who had been a prominent associate of Rahul Gandhi in the Bharat Jodo Yatra, from one of the key constituencies of Delhi, indicates this change. For long there are rumours that the leadership is thinking of making the fiery leader from Bihar the president of the party’s Delhi unit to revive the organisation.

With the influx of people from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh on the rise no political party can afford to stay relevant by ignoring this segment. Seen from this perspective, Kumar could be a good choice to lead the state unit.

What is equally important is that Kumar is taking on the BJP’s Manoj Tiwari, the face of the migrants from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in Delhi. Tiwari earlier was the Delhi BJP chief as well.

An open game?

In the national capital, the BJP is not fighting fit despite changing six of the seven incumbent MPs. Unlike in 2014 and 2019, this time there isn’t a palpable ‘Modi wave’ in the national capital — and if Delhi is seen as a ‘mini India’, this sentiment can be extrapolated to the rest of the country. This would mean that the fight in the seven seats will be keenly fought, and the BJP could find it hard to repeat the brutal majority it won in some seats last time.

The 2024 Lok Sabha polls in Delhi are an open game with the AAP-Congress alliance. Kejriwal is attempting to turn a crisis into an opportunity for AAP, while the Congress leadership is laying the groundwork for the future of the state unit of the party.

(Sunil Gatade is a senior journalist)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.