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Journalism of Courage
The Delhi election battle scheduled for February 5 is heating up.
On Thursday, the BJP has finalised a deal with its NDA Bihar allies – the JD(U) and LJP (Ram Vilas) – even as the Opposition INDIA bloc stands divided ahead of the Delhi Assembly polls.
The BJP on Thursday released its fourth list of nine candidates for the February 5 polls, thus declaring 68 of the 70 names — leaving two seats for the Nitish Kumar-led JD(U) and the Chirag Paswan-led LJP (RV).
Later in the evening, BJP national general secretary Arun Singh said in an official statement that the party was leaving two seats for its allies. “As a part of the seat-sharing agreement, the JD(U) will contest the Burari seat while the LJP(RV) will contest Deoli,” the statement read.
IN CONTEXT: The BJP and its allies are going all out to gain power in Delhi. But historically, Delhi’s Assembly has been dominated first by the Congress and now by the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
Since Delhi’s Legislative Assembly was established in 1993 – it had a metropolitan council with no legislative powers until then – the BJP has come to power only one time, in the first Assembly polls. The Congress ruled Delhi for three consecutive terms from 1998 to 2013, before the AAP came to power first in 2013, with a short-lived minority government, and has now completed its second consecutive term (2015 to 2025).
After four consecutive one-sided elections between 1993 and 2008, the 2013 polls threw up Delhi’s first hung Assembly. The BJP was the single largest party with 32 seats and a 33.07 per cent vote share, but the AAP had a strong showing in its debut election winning 28 seats and a 29.49 per cent vote share. The Congress, despite securing 24.55 per cent of the vote share, was reduced to just eight seats. With no party clearing the 36-seat majority mark in the 70-member House, the AAP staked a claim to form the government with external support from the Congress.
In the recent past in Karnataka, there have been private dinner meetings and open calls for appointment of a new PCC chief, marking a return to the rampant factionalism that dogged the state Congress prior to the 2023 Assembly polls.
The chain of developments began at the start of the new year, with 2025 conjectured to be the last with Siddaramaiah as Chief Minister, as per a purported ‘seat-sharing’ formula between him and Deputy CM D K Shivakumar, under which the two were to hold power for two-and-a-half years each.
There has never been any official confirmation of this, though claims about the same keep popping up from the Shivakumar camp.
Now, while Siddaramaiah’s supporters are trying to rally his camp to ensure that he completes his full term, Shivakumar’s are keeping the waters roiling. Sources said that recently Siddaramaiah took on Shivakumar directly, ruling out a change in the leadership. The Siddaramaiah camp has also mounted pressure seeking that Shivakumar step down as PCC chief as he is also a minister.
Sources said that the high command might not be inclined to rock the boat as Siddaramaiah enjoys the support of a majority of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP), along with several powerful ministers, and minority, Dalit and OBC leaders. “Assuming that it is left to the CLP to decide a new leader, the chances of Shivakumar are slim,” a source said.
Shivakumar’s supporters include a section of the dominant Vokkaliga and Lingayat MLAs, and a handful of ministers and MLAs from North Karnataka regions. During the second half of 2024, there were reports of the Deputy CM trying to shore up his backing among MLAs.
What has weakened Shivakumar’s bargaining power is the less-than-satisfactory performance of the Congress in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. While at nine of the 28 seats, this was eight more than in 2019, the Congress failed to make any impression in the Vokkaliga-dominated South Karnataka region or Shivakumar’s turf.
Lok Sabha MP Dilip Saikia is set to be the next Assam BJP president as he was the only nominee for the post till Thursday, the last day for filing nominations, a party leader said.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the formal announcement for the state BJP chief will be made on Friday.
Saikia, a former BJP national general secretary, is a second-time MP from the Darrang-Udalguri constituency.
