Delhi elections 2020: BJP, Congress woo Bihar allies, keeping in mind Bihar polls later this year

JD(U) bagged 1,388 votes and RJD just 236 in 2015 Delhi Assembly elections but the BJP and Congress are wooing their Bihar allies in the capital in a bid to keep the bosses of these regional parties in good humour ahead of the polls in the eastern state later this year.

The move also indicates the two parties' dwindling stocks among the 'Poorvanchalis', accounting for over 40 lakh out of around 1.50 crore voters in the capital, who are believed to have been swayed by AAP.

Congress, which has never allied with any party so far, has inked a pact with Lalu Prasad-led RJD for seats while BJP has reached out to Nitish Kumar-led JD(U) and Ramvilas Paswan-led LJP with an offer of a couple of seats each to them.

BJP had Akali Dal as an ally in Delhi, which used to fight four out of 70 seats, but this time it announced that it will not be fighting elections following disagreement over Citizenship Amendment Act and possible National Register of Citizens.

So far, neither BJP nor Congress had given any space for JD(U) and LJP or Lalu Prasad's RJD in any election in the national capital but near-complete domination of AAP in Delhi's political landscape appeared to have prompted the two national parties to have a rethink on its electoral strategy.

BJP's reach out assumes special attention as it had decisively won all the seven seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from the capital.

In the 2015 polls, JD(U) contested three seats and garnered 0.02% votes while RJD fielded a candidate in one seat with a vote tally of 0.002% votes in the capital. LJP did not contest then.

Delhi's electoral geography had changed with the influx of migrants, especially Poorvanchali voters who belong to eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, and have resulted in the decreased influence of Punjabis and Jats.

Poorvanchalis were earlier dominant in East and North-East Delhi only but now they have become a major force in West and South West Delhi too and this has prompted the BJP and Congress to re-draw their strategy.

Senior leaders in these parties point out to the Bihar elections later in the year where the Congress is in alliance with RJD is pitted against Nitish Kumar-led NDA government for their decision to give seats to their allies.

"This is two-prong. This will send a message to their supporters in Delhi as well as Bihar. The supporters of RJD or JD(U) will be more active in Delhi and this will have a ripple effect in Bihar when it goes to polls," a Delhi BJP leader said, which was echoed by a local Congress functionary.

Amid speculation about whether Nitish Kumar jumps the NDA ship, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had last week announced that the NDA would be fighting Bihar polls under his leadership. The BJP is also roping in LJP, which did not contest 2015 polls in Delhi but announced that it would field candidates in all 70 seats this time, to their side.

Interestingly, Paswan had taken on Kejriwal government over the report on water samples in Delhi being poor, which in hindsight some leaders said was part of a plan to place his party ahead of the polls.

BJP had in September last year organised a 'Poorvanchali Mahakumb' in the capital, which was addressed by Shah, while it launched a strong attack on Kejriwal for his comments against Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari's support for National Register of Citizens (NRC). Kejriwal had then said that Delhi hospitals being stressed by an influx of patients from Bihar, which the BJP leaders had targeted.

Congress, on the other hand, has roped in former cricketer Kirti Azad as party's Campaign Committee Chairman, as a counter to Tiwari, a Bhojpuri superstar who belongs to Bihar. It has also fielded Azad's wife Poonam from Sangam Vihar.