In the recently concluded Delhi elections, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) secured majority with 62 seats, whereas the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured the remaining 8 seats. CM Arvind Kejriwal will continue to be at the helm of National Capital.
Crux of the Matter
AAP 2.0 Report Card AAP government from 2015 had carried out various constructive programs in the social sector to improve the standard of living of Delhiites. The state government has contributed immensely to the education and healthcare sector. As promised in the AAP 2015 manifesto, the party built 8,000 new classrooms and 500 new schools. Moreover, the Kejriwal government took steps to make education up to 12th class free. Management quotas for admissions were done away with and new scholarships, that did not have the ‘family income’ criteria, for students scoring more than 80% were introduced. In the healthcare sector, AAP’s flagship program, Aam Aadmi Mohalla Clinic (AAMC) that included setting up primary health clinics to provide free consultations, medicines, and tests, was praised by UN Secretary Generals. It also introduced a subsidy on electricity consumption. It also proposed free metro rides for women, children, and senior citizens. AAP government was criticized on the front of pollution and water. AAP government ran the odd-even scheme for another year to tackle pollution and promote environmental friendliness. It launched a program of doorstep delivery of government services like ration card, driving license, etc. Women’s safety remained a concern for the government, promising to install CCTV cameras and WiFi services across Delhi and to deploy bus marshals to ensure safety of women. AAP had also mentioned in its agenda to give Delhi full statehood although it has no powers to do so.
Dildaar Dilli? Political Parties seek power at the heart of the nation as the ruling party of Delhi gets eyeballs at every major event in India. Delhi is neither a Union Territory nor a State. The party in power in Delhi does not have power over law and order. AAP has time and again mentioned that it wants to give Delhi full statehood. Recognition of the work done by AAP seems to have translated into election results. The political campaigning in light of recent anti-CAA protests left a polarising mark on Delhiites.
Delhi – House of Cards With incidents of protests surfacing in the national capital, Shaheen Bagh became one of the central issues for the election agenda. BJP picked up the Shaheen Bagh axe to severe AAP’s ties in Delhi, with BJP leaders making statements that led Elections Commission to reprimand them. BJP leader Anurag Thakur raised the infamous ‘desh ke gaddaron ko’ slogan. While BJP MP Parvesh Verma was banned for 4 days by EC for calling Arvind Kejriwal ‘terrorist’ during campaigning. Home Minister Amit Shah set in motion his party’s election tactic by making Shaheen Bagh protests a central electoral agenda. It must be noted that the person who fired during Shaheen Bagh protests was linked to AAP. Also, AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan was spotted on stage multiple times with Sharjeel Imam during Shaheen Bagh protests and was also linked with other anti-CAA protests in Delhi.
D-Day in Numbers The voter turnout ratio in Delhi was observed at 62.59% which was 4% less than the last assembly elections, but 2% more than the 2019 General Election.
Vote share of BJP, INC, and AAP in last three decades
Aam Aadmi Party received 53.64% of the total votes cast, whereas the Bharatiya Janta Party received 38.5% of the total votes cast. Congress received 4.25% votes. Other votes were distributed among other parties and None Of The Above (NOTA). The seat of Okhla that constitutes Shaheen Bagh – the center of political war and Anti-CAA protests – was won by AAP’s Amanatullah Khan by a margin of 71,827 votes. He has been at the forefront of Anti-CAA protests held at Shaheen Bagh. Congress Chief of Delhi, Mr. Subhash Chopra resigned from the post of Regional Party Chief after the election results.
Overview of Winners Looking at the declarations made by MLAs in their affidavit, 43 candidates of AAP who have won the election have criminal cases against them. Of them, 37 face serious criminal charges. 5 BJP MLAs have declared criminal charges in their form. The average assets of the elected AAP MLAs are INR14.96 crores, whereas of BJP MLAs are INR 9.10 crores.
Vote of Thanks
अपने बेटे को इतना प्यार देने के लिए दिल्लीवसियों का तहे दिल से शुक्रिया। आज दिल्ली वालों ने एक नई राजनीति को जन्म दिया “काम की राजनीति”। ये भारत माता की जीत है। जय हिंद। pic.twitter.com/q5xP8ytYvc — Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 11, 2020
Congratulations to AAP and Shri @ArvindKejriwal Ji for the victory in the Delhi Assembly Elections. Wishing them the very best in fulfilling the aspirations of the people of Delhi. — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 11, 2020
दिल्ली के सभी मतदाताओं का धन्यवाद । सभी कार्यकर्ताओ को उनके कठिन परिश्रम के लिए साधुवाद…दिल्ली की जनता का जनादेश सिर माथे पे.. @ArvindKejriwal जी को बहुत बहुत बधाई .. — Manoj Tiwari (@ManojTiwariMP) February 11, 2020
Curiopedia
Arvind Kejriwal – Arvind Kejriwal is an Indian politician and a former bureaucrat who is the current and 7th Chief Minister of Delhi since February 2015. He was also the Chief Minister of Delhi from December 2013 to February 2014, stepping down after 49 days of assuming power. Currently, he is the national convener of the Aam Aadmi Party, which won the 2015 Delhi Assembly elections with a historic majority, obtaining 67 out of 70 assembly seats. In 2006, Kejriwal was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Emergent Leadership in recognition of his involvement in the grassroots level movement Parivartan using right to information legislation in a campaign against corruption. The same year, after resigning from Government service, he donated his Magsaysay award money as a corpus fund to found the Public Cause Research Foundation, a non-governmental organisation (NGO). More Info
Curated Coverage
Business Today – Delhi Election Results: Here’s how biggest candidates have fared so far
The Print – Amit Shah, Adityanath, Anurag Thakur — 5 most provocative speeches of Delhi elections
elections.in – Delhi Assembly Election 2020 – List of Constituencies
India Today – How AAP pocketed almost entire anti-BJP vote share in Delhi
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