Zero seats we secured now different from zero we got earlier: DPCC chief on Cong poll performance

How is the Delhi Congress looking at its poll performance?

We couldn’t enter the Delhi Assembly for the third consecutive term… that is definitely a personal loss for us but we were able to build a perception that it is a three-way contest and not a two-way contest. So, yes, we have still been able to make a lot of progress.

But this time, the zero that we secured is much different from the zero that we secured last time — the reason being that after this election, we are hopeful that we will be able to win back the loyalties of our core voters: Dalits, underprivileged and minorities. The hope is now that AAP is no longer in government, we will be able to win back the vote share of the electorate for whom we were always the first choice.

Apart from winning back the confidence of the core voter base, what else is the party looking forward to?

The people have now entrusted their faith by increasing our vote share by 2% points and in that, there is no Dalit and minority votes included. As I have always been saying — AAP hero se zero ho jayegi (AAP will reduce to a zero by the next election). This time too, they were almost there. Our only drawback was that we were unable to explain to these segments that we were the better option, and the reason behind that was that they (AAP) were standing at 62 seats. They (minorities, Dalits) were definitely thinking that if they want to stop the BJP, then the AAP was the only option. But it’s our cadre whose faith led to the 2% (points) increase in our vote share so that is one thing to rejoice. Now, we will focus on our cadre to strengthen our organisation. Additionally, we will keep raising issues that Delhi is facing.

Do you think that the Lok Sabha alliance between the AAP and the Congress damaged your prospects in Delhi?

… 100%… that has damaged our prospects. It was a big fault on our part, and as a result, we have had to settle for zero.

What led to AAP’s loss, according to you?

Strong anti-incumbency against the current dispensation due to lack of infrastructural development, corruption, lack of civic amenities… all these things have led to the AAP’s loss. Arvind Kejriwal had to go behind bars due to corruption cases against him, and even when he went to jail, he did not resign. The entire Capital suffered due to a lack of governance… Secondly, the ‘common man’ image he had built while stepping into politics, that was demolished because he built a ‘Sheesh Mahal’ for himself… He did not deliver any of the promises he made.

What do you think is behind BJP’s win?

Both the parties are sides of the same coin. As there was heavy anti-incumbency against the AAP, it translated into the BJP’s win… and people could not believe that the Congress could form a government because we were at zero for two terms. I feel that our Dalit and Muslim voters comprise almost 32 to 34% of the electorate. If they would have supported us, then the result would have been very different.