When Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah raised doubts about the INDIA bloc’s unity suggesting that it was formed only for the parliamentary elections, most political pundits took the observation with a pinch of salt. However, the upcoming Delhi assembly election has split the opposition bloc with alliance partners like the Trinamool Congress (TMC), the Shiv Sena (UBT), and Samajwadi Party (SP) lending support to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) much to the discomfiture of Congress. The move means bloc members are working at a cross purposes. Already there were fissures within the group during the election in Haryana where Congress and AAP had fought separately. At the same time, the relationship of the former with the Shiv Sena (UBT) does not seem as sweet as it used to be following the debacle in Maharashtra. The isolation of Congress can be understood from RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav’s snide remark that the bloc was formed specifically for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The cracks have raised doubts about the ability of the grand old party to lead a coalition to take on the mighty BJP, for which it would be a win-win situation.
Tehelka’s cover story “Bracing for battle royal” by Nitin Mahajan explains why the forthcoming Legislative Assembly contest in the national capital is being keenly watched in political circles because at stake is the political future of former Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal, who has risen from grassroots and enabled the party to secure a “national” tag in only about a decade. Delhi is considered to be the power centre of AAP, from where the party began its political journey. However, over the past few years, the nation’s youngest political party has been facing a tough time as several of its ministers and top leaders have been battling serious allegations of corruption. Several of its senior leaders, including Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain, and Sanjay Singh, have faced extensive grilling by investigative agencies and judicial custody over these past months. A victory will also ensure that the party would project it as an endorsement by voters and hence show that they still enjoy the confidence of the masses and that cases against them are all fabricated. On the other hand, the AAP’s loss in Delhi would be a major blow to his reputation and could potentially harm Kejriwal’s national ambitions. Tehelka’s Priyanka Tanwer gives another twist to the cover story with her write-up “Delhi’s civic woes: AAP’s Achilles heel?”.
Interestingly, the Delhi election at least for once has brought the BJP and the Congress on the same page on the issue of renovation of CM’s official residence at a whopping cost, ironically in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic allegedly pointing to misplaced priorities. The BJP and Congress are now targeting the very image of AAP and its convener who has projected himself as a commoner. Well, February 8 would be awaited as Shakespeare coined in ‘Merchant of Venice’ with bated breath!
