Managing internal rifts will be as critical as governing the city itself for the BJP as it regains power in Delhi after 27-year hiatus, with strategic backing from the RSS. A report by Nitin Mahajan
While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been wielding political power at the Centre and in over 20 states across the country for the past 11 years under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, securing the Delhi Assembly has remained an elusive dream for the saffron party for almost three decades, since its last Chief Minister, the late Sushma Swaraj, demitted office in December 1998.
The BJP’s exile from the Players’ Building, the headquarters of the Delhi government, ended after its leader Rekha Gupta was sworn in as the chief minister of the national capital territory, along with her six cabinet colleagues on 20th February this year.
The mission of securing a political win in the national capital by defeating the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party wasn’t an easy one and the BJP leadership was aware of this predicament. And to make this task a success, the leadership of the BJP, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party chief JP Nadda and Home Minister Amit Shah, decided to heavily lean on the support of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and seek an active involvement of its cadres to bolster the support for the party, just like they did in the Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly polls, a few months ago.
After getting a go-ahead from the top saffron leadership, the RSS began working on the strategy to win over the common people of Delhi over the past several months. The mission wasn’t easy as the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party held a vice-like grip over the Delhi government and enjoyed a mass appeal due to the freebie culture— dubbed revdi culture by BJP— that his successive governments had spawned.
It took months of planning and political strategizing by the saffron leadership to formulate a plan of action for successful removal of the AAP government.
The initial process began last year, with the continued and sharpened targeting of senior AAP leaders like Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain and others over alleged corruption cases. The BJP ensured that the AAP leadership, which prided itself on riding to the national capital’s power corridors on the back of an anti-corruption movement, could not evade these charges so easily.
A relentless pursuit and charging of these leaders ensured that Kejriwal, Sisodia and Jain were imprisoned after indictments (being charge-sheeted) by the investigative agencies. This ensured that the clean image of the AAP leadership came under a cloud and raised doubts in the minds of ordinary people.
Interestingly, for the first time in Delhi’s electoral politics, the BJP too decided to go for a freebie model, made ever so popular by Kejriwal, in these Assembly polls. The party has been staying away from making any such promises in the past few polls in the city. However, the local leadership in consultation with the top leaders announced the party’s decision to continue the already implemented subsidies including free bus rides for women, subsidised power and potable water, if it came to power. Moreover, the BJP also went ahead and promised a monthly dole of Rs 2,500 to economically weaker, eligible women in the national capital with an aim to secure additional votes.
Meanwhile, during the run up to polls, an attempt was also made by the saffron affiliates to avoid any factionalism among the Delhi leadership. The local leaders were asked to follow the strategy devised by the central leaders and take the local cadre on board if they wanted to return to power in the national capital.
The Delhi BJP has historically struggled with internal rivalries. Leaders like Vijender Gupta, Manoj Tiwari, and Parvesh Verma have often been at odds, vying for influence. The BJP’s centralized decision-making under Prime Minister Narendra Modi immensely helped suppress factionalism.
For implementation of these political strategies, the RSS, which is the ideological parent of the BJP, played a crucial role.
Ahead of the Delhi Assembly polls, a massive outreach program by the RSS cadre was implemented where over 60,000 meetings were held across the national capital which ensured that a ground was prepared for the BJP’s return to power in the national capital after 27 years.
Despite speculation over various names, it is understood that Gupta had a strong backing of the RSS ever since the results of the polls were announced. The Sangh had expressed complete confidence in her and had also conveyed the same to the BJP leadership.
The RSS and BJP high command reportedly favored a candidate with a “clean image” and broader appeal.
Ever since the BJP’s less-than-adequate performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the Sangh has become more hands-on in shaping electoral strategy and bolstering support for its political affiliate. The fact was clearly evident earlier during Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly polls as well, where the Sangh cadre had ensured that the BJP’s supporters came out to vote on the polling day and that it connected with the undecided and young voters of these states, ensuring impressive victories for the saffron front.
Ever since the Lok Sabha polls, the Sangh cadre had upped its outreach, where issues related to nationalism and public welfare measures of the Narendra Modi government were discussed with first time voters, youth and women. The results of these outreach meetings by the Sangh cadres have been seen in recent Maharashtra, Haryana and Delhi Assembly polls, a fact acknowledged by BJP leadership .
Last year, in Haryana, the BJP won 48 out of 90 seats for a third consecutive term, while in Maharashtra, the MahaYuti alliance — comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena (Shinde faction), and NCP (Ajit Pawar) — claimed 228 out of 288 seats.
The saffron win in these two states was attributed to the effective outreach by RSS narrative in favour of the party.
In Delhi, the campaign by Sangh was launched soon after the Maharashtra election and the city was divided among eight zones, catering to 30 districts and 173 nagars. Apart from RSS pracharaks, cadres of various associate organizations also took part in the outreach programme in Delhi.
RSS imprint on Gupta cabinet
The nomination of Rekha Gupta as Chief Minister, Delhi’s fourth woman CM after Sushma Swaraj (BJP), Sheila Diskhit (Congress) and Atishi (AAP), clearly has a stamp of approval by the RSS. The senior leader hails from the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the youth wing of the Sangh, and enjoys complete confidence of saffron outfits. She is considered to be a loyalist of RSS sarkaryavah (general secretary) Dattatreya Hosable.
The top leadership of the BJP is understood to have accommodated the RSS’ candidate for the Chief Minister’s post after a strong backing by the Sangh in recent Delhi Assembly polls, another acknowledgement by BJP of Sangh’s influence in selection of CM faces.
It is believed that the BJP was able to secure 48 of the 70 seats in the Delhi Assembly after trouncing the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party, largely due to the solid and unwavering support of the Sangh affiliates. Rekha Gupta’s appointment as the first woman CM under BJP rule in any state aligns with the party’s aim to secure support of female voters, who played a crucial role in its Delhi victory.
The BJP has also tried to ensure that caste equations and community aspirations are taken care of in the appointments to the Delhi government cabinet.
Gupta’s appointment is seen as potentially historic, as there has been no woman BJP chief minister in any of the 21 states where the BJP is in power. Her clean image, grassroots engagement, organizational skills, and her convincing victory in Shalimar Bagh are cited as reasons for her selection for the top post.
By appointing Rekha Gupta as the Delhi CM, the BJP has created many equations at once. She has taken the baton from CMs during Aam Aadmi Party tenure, Arvind Kejriwal (Bania) and Atishi Marlena (woman), and fulfilled the aspirations of these communities.
It sends out a positive message to the saffron cadres that even an ordinary ABVP worker can rise to become the chief minister, if you work relentlessly for the organization.
By appointing, ministers including Parvesh Verma (Jat), Ashish Sood (Punjabi, Bania), Manjinder Singh Sirsa (Sikh, Minority), Kapil Mishra (Brahmin), Ravinder Indraj Singh (Dalit) and Pankaj Kumar Singh (Purvanchali) regional, caste and community aspirations have been fulfilled.
Moreover, senior leader Vijender Gupta, who hails from bania community, has been accommodated as the Speaker of the House.
By inducting leaders from these communities, the BJP has ensured representation for all major communities and castes that have helped it in the ousting of the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party from power in the national capital.
The social engineering is expected to ensure that voting blocks and communities that supported the BJP in the recent Assembly polls and Lok Sabha polls last year receive adequate representation in the Delhi cabinet. The BJP hopes that this accommodation will boost the political standing of the saffron front in the national capital.
In other states, 15 percent of the Assembly strength can be made ministers. However, in Delhi, only 10 percent of the Assembly seats i.e. a total of 7 ministers can be made. There are 70 members in the Delhi Legislative Assembly. According to the formula in Delhi, a total of 7 ministers including the chief minister can be in the cabinet. That means one chief minister and 6 cabinet ministers.
Winning, and more importantly, holding on to the power in the national capital is very important for the BJP as it wants to showcase and develop it into a world class city. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier stated that he wanted to evolve the city into a modern day metropolis that can be displayed as the pride of India. And the saffron party feels that its double engine concept would be ideal one to make the PM’s vision materialise.
There had been a feeling in the BJP that unless a friendly government took power in Delhi, it would be very difficult to achieve the target set by PM Modi. With the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP at the helm of affairs, the saffron unit had been facing frustrating times in the national capital as several of its developmental initiatives were not implemented in the city.
As the saffron party embarks on its first term in Delhi in nearly three decades, managing internal rifts will be as critical as governing the city itself.
It is believed that a faction of state leadership is unhappy with the elevation of Gupta as the CM and could stir up trouble in the future. The BJP’s victory in Delhi is a moment of triumph, but the shadow of dissent looms large over its internal dynamics. Only time will reveal if this internal strife can be doused by the spirit of reconciliation or stir up rebellion within the saffron fold. The Delhi unit’s fractious past means that tensions could simmer beneath the surface, ready to erupt if the new government falters.
Any internal discord within the saffron front could jeopardize the goals set by the central BJP leadership and its long-term plan to retain political power in the national capital, especially as the Aam Aadmi Party, led by a wounded but resilient Arvind Kejriwal, waits to capitalize on any misstep by the BJP.
As the saffron party embarks on its first term in Delhi in nearly three decades, managing internal rifts will be as critical as governing the city itself.
The Delhi government needs to deliver on the BJP’s ambitious promises—tackling pollution, improving infrastructure, transport and providing economic relief—to maintain its vote bank’s trust. The newly-sworn in government seems to have hit the ground running with several rounds of meetings being held with government officials for review of various projects and initiation of new development works ever since the government took over.
