Amit Shah seizes moment as coronavirus pandemic jolts Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal

On February 11 this year, Arvind Kejriwal was a ‘khaas’ man. He had led the Aam Aadmi Party to another resounding win in the Assembly polls. He had withstood one of the most polarising campaigns unleashed by BJP’s Amit Shah, who led from the front, and ably aided by a supporting cast that included Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath among others.

Read: Bury differences, join hands to battle COVID-19 in Delhi: Shah tells all-party meet

Four months down the line, an invisible enemy, the coronavirus, has brought Kejriwal to his knees. The virus opened the door and the BJP and Amit Shah, waiting for a toehold in Delhi, sneaked in.

On Sunday, Shah held meetings with Kejriwal and Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal and the BJP-ruled municipal corporations to devise a strategy to contain the raging pandemic.

Also Read: Home Minister Amit Shah holds all-party meet on COVID-19 situation in Delhi

It was a clear sign that the baton of COVID-19 control in the national capital was passing into the hands of the BJP-led central government. Nothing better illustrated the change in dynamics than Shah’s visit to a Delhi government-run hospital to take stock of the hospital’s COVID-19 preparation. For Kejriwal, it was bad news since there would be a political fallout later.

With the BJP in power at the Centre as well in municipal corporations, the party will have a role in Delhi’s virus containment efforts even if it is not ruling the state.

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And that is a paradox, considering that the BJP lost three elections in a row to the Congress-led Sheila Dikshit in 1998, 2003 and 2008, and then was trounced by the AAP in 2013, 2015 and 2020. But the party has always had an upper hand in municipal corporation polls even before the decimation of the Congress. The status quo remains.

Also Read: Amit Shah returns to centre stage for the BJP, so does Rahul Gandhi for the Congress

This arrangement always contributed to the tense relationship between the state government and the administration of municipal corporations—first between the Congress and the BJP and now between AAP-BJP.

Supporters of the BJP on social media also run a virtual campaign on the spread of the pandemic, reminding people that the outbreak happened just months after they rejected the BJP and brought the AAP to power.

Also Read: Has COVID-19 revealed the true measure of Arvind Kejriwal administrative capabilities?

After the Supreme Court slammed the Delhi government on low testing, the BJP went to the town, dubbing Kejriwal a “failure” besides announcing that the central government “fully stands with the people of Delhi”.

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra did not forget to take potshots, as he reminded the Kejriwal government to “work on the ground” and “eschew aggressive, negative politics”.

Another party spokesperson and Delhi MP Meenakshi Lekhi earlier said the health infrastructure in Delhi had worsened under the AAP government.

The COVID-19 crisis has given some talking points to the BJP in Delhi. Though the AAP is in power, it is advantage Amit Shah right now in Delhi.