Delhi polls: Five reasons how Congress can spoil AAP and BJP plans
Delhi Assembly elections 2015, perhaps the most interesting election in the past two years, is just a couple of weeks away. No recent state election has witnessed such high voltage and action filled campaigning as much as Delhi. Right from Kiran Bedi's induction into the BJP and her announcement as the chief ministerial candidate to AAP founder member Shanti Bhushan criticising Arvind Kejriwal; the election is being fought tooth and nail. As we all know, the fight to power for Delhi is mostly between the AAP and the BJP, but it strongly appears that Congress might just spoil the party for both of them.
1. Strong winnable candidates from select constituencies: Though it is definite that Congress would not be able to secure that many seats, but should it cross the 6-7 seats mark, it will surely lead to a hung Assembly. There are some constituencies which the Congress has an extremely good chance to win, owing to their strong candidates. Five time MLA Shoaib Iqbal from Matia Mahal, Ajay Maken from Sadar Bazaar, Haroon Yusuf from Ballimaran, Mateen Ahmed Chaudhry from Seelampur, Sharmishtha Mukherjee from Greater Kailash, Asif Mohammad Khan from Okhla, former member of Parliament Mahabal Mishra from Dwarka, and Ashok Walia from Laxmi Nagar, are some of the strongest and most prominent candidates, and given their background, they have an extremely good chance of winning.
2. No major controversy: The AAP and the BJP are in direct competition with each other to secure power and in the usual election hullaballoo, have faced several embarrassments and controversies. With Kejriwal accusing BJP's Satish Upadhyay of owning companies which sold electricity meters, to AAP founder member Shanti Bhushan criticising Kejriwal, both the parties have primarily indulged in mudslinging at each other, with Congress not being in the picture at all. Therefore, with no major controversy attached to them, Congress has been working extensively to gain as much ground as possible.
3. Ajay Maken: Congress' election campaign in Delhi is being led by Ajay Maken, who is an experienced veteran. A three time member of the Delhi Assembly, two-time member of Parliament and a former Union minister, Maken has significant experience in politics and has a clean and charismatic image. Inspite of Congress' humiliations last year, he has been politically and socially active. Moreover, his penchant for connecting with the masses will help the Congress to a large extent.
4. Complacency against Congress: Given Kejriwal and Amit Shah's election strategy, it clearly appears that both the parties have been very complacent about the Congress in their campaiging approach, in the assumption that the party is not even in the fray. However, given Congress' campaign is led by Maken and its plethora of prominent faces; it might stage a few upsets and bring Delhi to a deadlock.
5. New faces: In a bid to attract voters, Congress has given election tickets to several new leaders. Sharmishtha Mukherjee, daughter of President Pranab Mukherjee from Greater Kailash constituency, former metro editor of an English daily Pratyush Kanth from Kirari, Independent councillor Bansi Lal from Krishna Nagar, Independent candidate Satanpal Daima from Karawal Nagar and former MLA Roop Chand's daughter Rinku from Gokalpuri, are some of the prominent new faces for the upcoming elections, who might stage upsets and lead to a hung Assembly.