Thoughtless voting in Delhi election

Results of Delhi election brought back AAP with absolute majority reducing other national parties and regional outfits to dust. The result is that Grand National old party Indian National Congress has been wiped out. Virtually BJP also is out as only 3 candidates won the elections. Others include BSP which fielded 70 candidates are also cropper. The results also show that all forecasters and pollsters have also been demolished as none could predict even approximately this situation.. Arvind Kejriwal himself did not expect to get such massive majority which has virtually no opposition and rightly put it as ‘God’s miracle’. Delhi has voted irrationally and there are plethoras of explanations without credence being offered by the commentators.

Why has Delhi voter voted in drones for an untested and untried party that virtually abdicated responsibility barely an year ago? Many believe it is low income group and marginal areas that have given him mandate but all the posh colonies of Delhi too have given him high votes. Congress and BJP are wiped out even in aristocracy and affluent groups. It is both socialist and capitalist vote! The saddest side of voting was that Congress was reduced to zero that never happened with the party in its entire history as it lost almost all deposits. Shiela Dixit’s belated blaming Ajay Maken is in poor taste as it is clear that no one including her could save Congress and it may take years to recover from shock if no steps are taken to shake the organization and its old leaders. Public anger with lack luster functioning of the Congress was known. Its share of 15% votes obviously got transferred en block to AAP and there is  no surprise that it lost as  most of pollsters normally expected it to get 2-3seats.The surprise was the BJP that was riding the wave of previous victories in state elections and led by strong leader too fell in the ditch with mere symbolic presence in assembly. It is also strange that only few months back the same Delhi voted for BJP in all MP seats and others did not get even one. What went wrong with BJP in few months?

BJP, however, could take solace that they have still the victory run in other parts of the country as at the same time they have swept the civic polls of Assam where they had hardly any presence previously. It is true that it has retained its 32.3% share of votes slightly ahead of last election. But party with one third of votes has only three due to these phenomena of fight being reduced between two and all the rest too getting merged with AAP. I wrote in earlier column before election that the party that sucks Congress votes will win and obviously AAP only could have abrogated it. BJP suffered on many counts: Admittedly it had no popular face to lead and when Kiran Bedi was hurriedly brought only few weeks before the election she was not a political match for Kejriwal for her verbal duels. BJP should not have declared her as CM candidate but brought her as MLA candidate to be chosen after winning election. The same was done for V.K.Singh who after election as MP was made a Minister. In Delhi, however, they were facing Kejriwal who was working for many months with declared Candidates to woo voters and was using his gift of gab for painting false or true pictures before the voters. He lured them with free wi fi and many freebies of water and power etc. But were Delhi voters so petty to be taken in for freebies in the face of good governance ?Kejriwal asked for apology for running away from CM’s position and they pardoned him? Were they so gullible? His antics with priests and Muslim cleric did woo the communal votes. But why others were blind to it? On the other hand Modi was harmed by Hindu zealots also and they did not get him total Hindu votes also. Khalil Ahmed rightly summed it up in twitter’” Kejriwal’s victory is due to Hindu secularism, Muslim communalism, Congresslessness, and concern with bills”. Some observers went so far as to claim that every party got what it wanted: Kejriwal wanted and got power.BJP got congress- mukt Delhi, Congress could put stop to BJP. It is witty but it does not explain the voting. Were Delhi voters sold to freebies and if it was so it was foolish? Bane of democracy is buying votes with free laptops,power and water etc Were they overawed by display of poorly dressed muffler man and clownish display of caps? Were they envisioning high tech advanced world class Delhi living free without funds? It might be plausible that they were disenchanted with Modi’s narcissistic attire and poor response of BJP? Perhaps they just wanted a change for the heck but it appears to me that this voting was thoughtless.

---Prof N.K.Singhformer Chairman International Airports Authority of India