Today in Politics: PM Modi to address BJP workers in Delhi; AAP, Congress gulf deepens

Over 13,000 booth-level workers — who are crucial to how the BJP functions on the ground — will take part in this programme.

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. This time, the efforts are on to defeat the AAP citing anti-incumbency and corruption.

Meanwhile, in an interview with The Indian Express on Tuesday Atishi said that Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena will have to ease up on his “obstructionist” politics.

Atishi added that she counts that the AAP government didn’t destabilise, as was feared by many after Arvind Kejriwal’s resignation as CM, as the biggest achievement of her four-month tenure.

“As far as the (LG’s) obstructionist approach (is concerned), I think that it is likely to get reduced substantially after we win the elections,” Atishi said. “The BJP’s plan was to stop our work, bring the government to a standstill… But it hasn’t succeeded… Despite all of their attempts, we have been able to deliver on the governance front. Yes, there have been some agendas we have not been able to fulfill but, by and large, there is no anti-incumbency against our government.”

On the future of the INDIA bloc, given the growing bitterness between the AAP and Congress in Delhi, Atishi said the fate of the alliance would be assessed after the Assembly elections. At the same time, she pointed out, “as far as Delhi’s politics goes, the Congress is not a significant player”. “The Delhi elections are a direct fight between the AAP and BJP. In the 2020 elections, the Congress lost its deposit, I think, in 68 or 69 of the 70 seats (the party contested 66 seats, and lost deposits in 63)… The situation is not going to be very different this time.”

On Tuesday, Atishi, who is contesting the Assembly polls from the Kalkaji Assembly constituency, wrote to the Returning Officer (RO) of the constituency alleging that her party members were being threatened by BJP candidate Ramesh Bidhuri’s supporters, including by his nephew. The BJP, meanwhile, said AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal and Atishi are making these allegations because they know they are losing the elections.

Atishi is going up against former South Delhi MP Bidhuri and Congress’s Alka Lamba.

In her letter to the RO, Atishi alleged Bidhuri’s nephew threatened AAP workers in the constituency and told them to “sit at home” or they would have their “arms and legs broken”.

In response, Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said, “AAP leaders, along with several ministers and senior leaders, are sensing defeat. Instead of focusing on contesting the elections together, AAP leaders are preparing to blame their defeat on the BJP and the Election Commission.

UP Cabinet meeting at Kumbh

The Yogi Adityanath-led government will hold a special Cabinet meeting at Maha Kumbh on Wednesday. All 54 ministers of the state will be present at the meeting, where significant announcements are set to be made.

— With PTI inputs