AAP faces MCD test in Delhi; foul air may dent Arvind Kejriwal
Photo credit DD News
By Manish Anand
New Delhi, November 4: People in Delhi may queue up to cast their votes, coughing and swearing at the Aam Aadmi Party, on December 4 for the elections for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). While the AAP has been in power in Delhi since 2013, the party is yet to make a dent in the Bharatiya Janata Party’s stronghold in the municipal corporations.
Former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit had sought to cripple the political power of the MCD by splitting it into four zonal units. But the BJP government at the Centre merged the four corporations into a single unit as part of the strategy to revive the political might of the MCD to counter the hegemony of the AAP in the politics of the national capital.
The Delhi Election Commission on Friday announced the date for the elections for the MCD at a time when the national capital has again been hit hard with the stubble burning in Punjab, which is also ruled by the AAP. The Arvind Kejriwal-led outfit is now without the alibi of passing on the blame on others for the foul air, which has shut the primary schools, while sending the people to stay indoors and opting for the work from home model. Kejriwal’s claim that a chemical spray can turn the stubbles into composts has also turned out to be loud talks, as the Bhagwant Singh Mann government in Punjab is in power.
The BJP should be facing anti-incumbency factor in the MCD elections, for being in power for three consecutive terms. But the irony for the BJP remains that the party wins the MCD elections, but loses the Assembly polls in the national capital. The delimitation of the municipal wards in the national capital is being stated to be favourable for the BJP, while Congress has challenged it in the court.
Experts for years have blamed on multiplicity of authorities in the national capital for several woes that Delhi faces, including pollution and mountains of garbage on the outskirts, while the Yamuna River remains a gutter and lakhs of people live in ghetto like conditions in the city. Even Dikshit while commanding dominance in the Delhi politics had failed to stop the BJP from taking power in the MCD.
The AAP has built a robust cadre in the national capital and the party has a strong bench of emerging leaders who will enter into the MCD elections. But the timing of the MCD elections may not suit the AAP, for the people are venting their anger at the Kejriwal government for failing to find solutions to the pollutions in the national capital, as stubble burning accounts for one-third of PM 2.5 pollution.
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