Delhi polls on February 5: AAP’s ‘Phir laayenge Kejriwal’ vs BJP’s ‘Badal ke rahenge’ as Congress tries to find a foothold

Aam Aadmi Party

Many within have acknowledged that the February 2025 polls are the party’s “toughest yet”. Cornered after its entire senior leadership was behind bars till a few months ago, including its national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, the party has fought back since, hitting the campaign trail first.

Kejriwal and his former deputy Manish Sisodia have held two rounds of padyatras in the Capital already. Its candidates were declared weeks ago, with many sitting MLAs dropped and the seats of some changed.

“The only criteria were winnability and popularity. In a waveless election, these things become important. Anti-incumbency has to be countered. We have not moved from the stage of sitting MLAs showing displeasure. Some may even join other parties and contest against us but the reason behind declaring our candidates sooner than other parties was to make sure the new candidates have a chance to introduce themselves to the electorate,” a senior party leader said.

AAP’s face in Delhi, despite Kalkaji MLA Atishi being chosen to lead the city as its Chief Minister last September, remains Kejriwal — its electoral war cry this time being, ‘Phir laayenge Kejriwal’. The party also released its official campaign song by the same name hours before the election dates were announced.

Delhi assembly elections 2025

The AAP’s focus has been on the announcement of welfare schemes – enhancing the monthly grant to non-tax paying women to Rs 2,100 if voted back to power; healthcare coverage for all Delhi voters over the age of 60 in government as well as some private hospitals.

It also relies on the immense popularity of the free water, free 200 units of power per month, and free bus rides for women schemes.

Bharatiya Janata Party

The BJP, which is likely to announce its second list of candidates on Tuesday and has embarked on its 27th year out of political power at the Assembly level in Delhi, has so far mainly relied on Prime Minister Modi as the face of its campaign in the capital.

At the two rallies that the PM addressed last week, he pitched the BJP-led Centre’s vision of developing Delhi as “a world-class capital” against the AAP’s model.
During his second public address, Modi referred to the Delhi government several times as the AAP-da government and raised what seems to be the party’s main poll slogan — AAP-da nahi sahenge, badal ke rahenge (We will not tolerate this disaster, we will bring a change).
In a departure from the past – especially the BJP’s 2020 campaign when issues such as NRC-CAA, nationalism and the surgical strike in Balakot – were at the core of its campaign, the BJP has, so far, limited its narrative to the Centre’s contribution to the development of Delhi comparing it to localised issues such as broken roads, water and sewage issues, traffic congestion and lack of housing for the poor.

Meanwhile, according to Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh sources, the RSS is seeking feedback on the impact of Kejriwal’s announcement of remuneration for temple priests and gurdwara granthis for the BJP’s poll manifesto which, according to a senior leader, is “almost ready”.

A senior BJP leader, however, also expressed worry at the pace of the party’s activities with the elections scheduled to be announced on Tuesday afternoon.

“While the party – including the PM himself – have not minced their words about the continuance of ‘all public welfare schemes’ if elected to power in Delhi, several senior leaders from the state unit have been pressing for more clarity in this regard. But the party’s national leadership is still examining their plausibility based on whether or not these are sustainable,” a party source said.

“We have conveyed to the senior leadership that it would be beneficial for the BJP to categorically announce that AAP-sponsored schemes such as power and water subsidies, and free bus rides for women will continue, in so many words. We have also suggested that an effective scheme to counter the Mukhyamantri Mahila Samman Yojana, based on our own schemes from states such as Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, be brought but there is no clarity on any of this yet,” a senior BJP leader from Delhi said.

Congress

On the other hand, the Congress has “imported” not only its own rendition of an honorarium for women citizens from other states as its most significant poll promise, but even leaders such as Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and its representatives in the INDIA bloc government led by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha in Ranchi, to instil confidence in Delhi voters in regards to the effective implementation of these schemes.

The Congress has, so far, been on the opposite end of political rivalry with both the BJP as well as its INDIA bloc ally, the AAP, in the Capital – despite a partnership during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections – taking on both with accusations of harming the city, which had progressed under three Sheila Dikshit-led governments between 1998 and 2013, pitching her legacy against both local and national issues.

So far, the Delhi Congress has announced 48 candidates for the upcoming elections, with its first list released on December 12 last year and the second on December 24.

Earlier, the party launched a month-long Dilli Nyay Yatra, inspired by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, to revive its voter base while exerting pressure on the AAP. As part of its campaign, the party unveiled its first election guarantee, the Pyari Didi Yojana — a direct cash transfer scheme offering a monthly allowance of Rs 2,500 to women.

There, however, has been friction between the party’s national leadership and its Delhi unit on the question of an alliance with the AAP.
Sources said that while the national leadership is still holding out hope for a tie-up, the combative nature of the Delhi unit’s campaign on the ground has made this untenable.

“The hope is still there. There is no saying what will happen till the final nominations have been filed,” a senior leader said.

While Kejriwal and Delhi Congress Chief Devender Yadav have categorically dismissed the possibility of an alliance, senior Congress leaders such as Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are yet to address a single gathering in the Capital.