MIDWEST EDITION
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015
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delhi elections ELECTION
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Arvind Kejriwal and other Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders celebrate party’s performance in Delhi Assembly Polls in New Delhi on Feb 10; (right) AAP supporters in a jubilant mood. (Photos: IANS)
AAP tsunami wrecks BJP, Cong The win gives India’s youngest political outfit a new lease of life after it was written off; opposition parties and even BJP ally Shiv Sena take potshots at PM Modi M.R. NARAYAN SWAMY, NEW DELHI
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n one of the most stunning comebacks in Indian political history, Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) scored a landslide victory in Delhi, delivering to the BJP its first defeat since its historic Lok Sabha triumph and reducing the Congress, which ruled the Capital for 15 years till 2013, to a virtual nonentity. Tens of thousands of jubilant AAP activists celebrated across the capital and in many other cities as the 27-month-old party grabbed a sensational 67 of the 70 seats in the Delhi assembly, leaving just three seats to the Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) — the highest victory margin for any party in Delhi so far. Although Delhi accounts for only 70 of the 4,120 assembly seats in the country, the AAP’s spectacular showing had its predictable fallout,
So stunning and sweeping was the victory in what was supposed to be a tough election with PM Modi himself leading the BJP’s charge that many AAP leaders and workers who had slogged for months broke into tears with opposition parties and even BJP ally Shiv Sena taking potshots at Modi. The win gave the AAP, India’s
Twitterati hail AAP victory, take a dig at Modi IANS, NEW DELHI
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youngest political outfit, 96 percent of seats in a legislature — another record — and a new lease of life after it was written off following its earlier turbulent 49-day stint in Delhi and the later humiliating rout
he Twitterati, the social medium that has been a hot favorite of the ruling BJP, especially Narendra Modi, came out in the open to take a swipe at the prime minister even as it mocked both the BJP and the Congress in the aftermath of the sensational Delhi poll results. “They wanted every Hindu Delhi BJP office wears a deserted look. woman to produce at least four kids.. and they couldn’t even win just started its ‘Swachh Bharat four seats in the Delhi assembly!” Abhiyan’ against BJP.” tweeted Pooja Mehra, an IT proWhile the day started with fessional, taking a dig at BJP MP #DelhiDecides as the top- most from Unnao Sakshi Maharaj who trending hashtag, within a few had asked Hindu women to pro- hours it was replaced by #AAPduce four children. Sweep as the people welcomed the Lauding the over two-year-old verdict. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for mak“The BJP hasn’t just been swept ing a stunning comeback after a away. Or crushed by an avalanche. 49-day stint in 2013-14, filmmak- It’s been hit by a meteorite,” Priti er Shirish Kunder said: “AAP has Singh, a twitter user said.
in the 2014 Lok Sabha battle. So stunning and sweeping was the victory in what was supposed to be a tough election with Prime Minister
Narendra Modi himself leading the BJP’s charge that many AAP leaders and workers who had slogged for months broke into tears. Kejriwal, 46, had teary eyes as AAP colleagues repeatedly hugged him and lifted him in the air, and congratulatory messages poured in from all over the country thick and fast. Outside his home, thousands kept chanting the party’s catchy line: “Paanch Saal, Kejriwal!” The Congress simply sank, with its chief campaigner Ajay Maken resigning as the party’s general secretary after he finished third in his Sadar Bazaar constituency. Most Congress candidates lost by huge margins, one by 95,000 votes.
The BJP suffered far more humiliation, with its chief ministerial candidate Kiran Bedi, who had been personally picked by Modi, losing to a little known advocate of the AAP. . With the BJP subdued, Modi, who led an aggressive campaign against Kejriwal and called him a “Naxalite” (Maoist) who should be banished to the forests, congratulated the AAP leader and offered his government’s full cooperation. The AAP said Kejriwal will take oath as Delhi’s chief minister February 14, exactly a year after he resigned. Delhi Police said it will provide “Z” category security that would include at least 30 commandoes to Kejriwal.
AAP’s door-to-door campaigning struck the right chord with voters NEW DELHI: It was the AAP’s doorto-door campaigning, along with a slew of innovative measures like flash mobs that helped the over two-yearold party build a trust relationship with people across all spectrums of society in the run-up to the Delhi assembly elections. “They used to visit us regularly and because of this they managed to build a trust relationship with us. They knew our problems and our issues. They soon became a part of our families due to their frequent visits,” Indu Devi, a resident of the Yamuna Khadar slum cluster in east Delhi told IANS. For someone like Sudip Ray, a businessman, who usually commutes in a car, AAP volunteers braving the winter cold left a deep impression on his mind. “I was born in this city. But never did I see so much enthusiasm among young party workers, who
Kejriwal campaigning in his New Delhi constituency. (Photo: IANS)
ensured that their party’s voice reached the voters,” Ray told IANS. The party cadres for whom the “hardwork has finally paid off”, this well-designed campaigning has been a major part of their game plan to win the hearts of Delhi voters after their
brief 49-day stint in the government last year. “We used to go to the houses in our constituency and spent a lot of time with the people, discussing their problems,” said Hafizuddin, a 32-yearold volunteer from Okhla.