New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has enlivened the Delhi political scene with an acerbic attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his first public meeting in the national capital on Saturday after getting interim bail from the Supreme Court.
Kejriwal ‘s attack was so incisive and direct that all senior BJP leaders made a beeline to counter him within hours of his speech to make sure the media carried it along with AAP leader’s speech.
Arvind Kejriwal touched the raw nerve of the BJP by saying Home Minister Amit Shah will replace Modi as PM when the latter becomes 75 in September next year and that all senior leaders of the party , including UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, will be forced out of their key positions if BJP is voted to power again. He insinuated that this was part of a design to establish what he called “one nation, one leader” concept. Apart from Shah, the BJP leaders who rushed to defend Modi included BJP President J.P. Nadda, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman, among others.
There was an uncanny similarity between Prime Minister Modi’s attack on Rahul Gandhi as a dynast and Kejriwal’s formulation of the PM as a dictator. The CM singled out the Prime Minister for his target at attack , seething with anger. Interestingly, he spared the Delhi BJP leaders who have been spewing venom against him ever since he assumed charge of Delhi, especially after he was arrested in the excise scam case.
Kejriwal’s election campaign has electrified the Delhi scene , judging by the public response. It seems to have rattled the BJP , at least in the national capital. Kejriwal has emerged as one of the top INDIA alliance leaders, his party solidly in fight in Delhi and Punjab and, perhaps, raring to go in other states in future. In some ways, the Congress is riding a piggyback in Delhi and Pubjab where both parties have an electoral understanding with each other.
Many believe there is a sympathy factor working in favour of Kejriwal and his party in Delhi and Punjab. There is every reason, therefore, for the INDIA alliance to rejoice as any victory of AAP will only swell its kitty. No wonder, the Opposition alliance is pinning much hope on Arvind Kejriwal in the remaining part of the campaign period. There is every likelihood of Kejriwal campaigning in other states if the bail conditions permit. There are nearly 50 per cent Lok Sabha seats going for poll in the next four phases left. Indeed, Kejriwal has now become a national leader, thanks to his incarceration and daily attacks on him.
Is the BJP concerned? Surely, it is. All seven seats of Delhi were bagged by the BJP in 2019. This was despite a thumping majority of AAP in the Delhi assembly elections. The reason was that AAP then was no part of a national alliance, unlike now. Neither was AAP and its leaders subjected to so much harassment and insult.
AAP enjoys a lot of goodwill among Delhi voters. As INDIA alliance partner in the Lok Sabha elections, AAP candidates are strong contenders. The Congress too has become relevant, thanks to its tie up with AAP.
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