‘Sheesh Mahal’ shows mirror to AAP, on ‘liquor scam’ opinion more split

The Lokniti-CSDS Survey, measuring the public perception of corruption and its influence on voting decisions, found that about a quarter of the voters opposed giving the AAP government another chance as they felt corruption had worsened in the state.

Two specific controversies seem to have contributed in fuelling this perception: the alleged liquor policy case and the controversial spending on the CM’s residence (dubbed by the BJP as ‘Sheesh Mahal’). Both were key aspects of the corruption campaign against the AAP by the BJP.

Table 1: Divided perceptions on arrests of AAP leaders.

At the same time, while the liquor scam may have dented the AAP’s credibility, the public opinion on the arrest of its top leaders was divided. Over one-thirds (37%) of the surveyed voters agreed that AAP leaders were indeed corrupt and their arrests were justified, but another one-thirds (36%) felt the Central government unfairly “trapped” the AAP leaders in false cases (Table 1).

The allegations about “misappropriating” and “squandering of public funds” for restoring the CM’s residence appear to have struck a deeper chord. Four in every 10 surveyed respondents said that public money was spent on unnecessary renovations, compared to one-thirds (34%) who believed that the restoration was justified (Table 2).

Table 2: Did Kejriwal squander money for restoration of CM’s residence?

Most importantly, these narratives were not only powerful in painting a grim picture of corruption but also contributed to the BJP’s emphatic victory. When asked, two-thirds of the surveyed voters said the AAP government was corrupt, with a quarter strongly believing it. Among those who believed the AAP was highly corrupt, an overwhelming majority (85%) said they voted for the BJP.

However, one-fourth of the surveyed voters maintained that the AAP was not corrupt, and they overwhelmingly supported the incumbent party (Table 3).

Table 3: Voter’s perception of AAP government and impact on vote choice.

Overall, the BJP’s persistent allegations of corruption linked to the liquor policy and charges of extravagant spending on the CM’s residence seem to have evoked a strong response, enough to shake people’s faith and trust in the AAP government.

The sentiment that the AAP’s leadership had deviated from its original ethos of simplicity, accountability and clean governance resulted, as a natural corollary, in voters seeking to place trust in the available alternative – the BJP.

Kumar and Sharma are researchers at Lokniti-CSDS.