Unlikely to form govt, Delhi Congress banks on bettering poll performance

Despite some glitches, the party is hoping to make a comeback in Badli, Kasturba Nagar, Okhla and Nangloi constituencies

Going by the exit polls and recent election trends, the Congress is unlikely to form the government in Delhi, with party leaders and functionaries hoping for increased representation and a jump in vote share to keep morale up.

A Congress roadshow in the run-up to Delhi elections. (HT Photo)

Despite staying in power for 15 years from 1998 to 2013, and more recently than the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Congress only secured eight seats in the 2013 elections and none in the 2015 and 2020 elections. Senior functionaries believe a jump in vote share will be a “moral victory” to keep the party afloat and functionaries loyal.

“The Nyay Yatra we did in December seemed to be hugely popular among people. People were seeing Congress on ground, working for the people after a long time. However, the lack of popular senior faces was noticeable. The situation may have been very different and we may a few more seats in hand if we had used the opportunity better,” a senior party leader who helped with the Delhi campaign said.

Among the key challenges the Delhi Congress has faced are frequent leadership changes and seasoned leaders leaving for other parties, disillusioning grassroots workers.

Party leaders also said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has taken over the majority of its vote bank as it was able to present itself as a credible alternative.

“Delhi voters do not naturally opt for BJP. They have been traditionally supporters of Congress and this is the vote bank that AAP captured and built upon. AAP’s popularity is when the downfall of Congress started. However, this time, we have tried to show the people that although AAP preaches to be working for the poor and marginalised, they have not actually done anything,” said Devender Yadav, Delhi Congress president.

Political analyst at Policy Research and Center for Contemporary India Study (PRACCIS) Sajjan Kumar said that the AAP managed to gain the support of voters from slums and unauthorised colonies with popular schemes, such as free water, power and bus rides.

While the Congress campaign relied heavily on development work during Sheila Dikshit’s tenure as the chief minister, experts said that infrastructure push, including flyovers and Metro, were key issues for the urban middle-class voters, a relatively smaller vote bank.

“The nostalgia of Sheila Dikshit governance model is mostly about big infrastructure push like flyovers and metro. This is mostly celebrated by the urban middle and upper middle class, which is a relatively smaller electorate in Delhi that votes for BJP. Meanwhile, the Congress vote bank is the rural poor clusters that now AAP has taken over. This is the paradox in Congress campaign now,” said Kumar.

Kumar said that the revival of the Congress in Delhi depended upon the performance of the BJP. “If AAP loses Delhi (as suggested by exit polls), then the party may fade away as it does not have the ideology or leadership to sustain itself, which may lead to revival of Congress, initially as the chief opposition,” he said.