Calling Delhi a "Mini India", where people from across the country live, former Indian Finance Minister and Congress parliamentarian P. Chidambaram on Tuesday said that the federally governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) “can be defeated in every state”.
The remark came as the BJP appeared to be decimated in the Delhi Legislative Assembly by the incumbent Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which was founded in 2012.
The AAP pilloried the BJP following a high-decibel electoral battle for the 70-seat State Assembly. Even while the counting was still ongoing, the AAP had won 54 seats - far ahead of the 36 majority mark - and was leading in eight seats. On the other hand, the BJP managed to win eight seats and was leading in one seat.
Taking to social media, Chidambaram, a well-known critic of Modi Government, tweeted: “If the voters represent the views of the states they came from, the Delhi vote is a booster for the confidence of the Opposition that the BJP can be defeated in every state”.
— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) February 11, 2020
If the voters represent the views of the states they came from, the Delhi vote is a booster for the confidence of the opposition that the BJP can be defeated in every state.
— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) February 11, 2020
“Remember, when Delhi voted, millions of Malayalees, Tamils, Telugus, Bengalis, Gujaratis and people who came from other states of India voted”, Chidambaram said in another tweet on the issue.
— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) February 11, 2020
In the third tweet in the series, Chidambaram observed: “The Delhi vote is close to an All India vote than to a state-specific vote. Because Delhi is a mini India”.
The governing AAP, led by state chief Arvind Kejriwal, showcased the work done by his party over the last five years to garner votes and the support of the public.
The BJP, meanwhile, contested the election on an agenda of nationalism and Hindutva, with the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) as its key electoral building block.
The CAA was recently enacted by the Indian parliament to grant citizenship to persecuted minorities (Hindus, Sikhs, Parsis, Buddhists, Jains, and Christians) from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. The amendment evoked violent protests across India in which 22 people were killed.
Meanwhile, Chidambaram’s own party, Congress, which governed Delhi for 15 years on the trot, itself drew a blank this time. Congress lost Delhi to the newcomer AAP in 2013 and 2015, with the latter poll win giving the AAP 67 seats and the BJP managing a meagre three seats.
