Anita Katyal | Cong self-doubt on poll decision; BJP taking over Khan Mkt gang

More than a week after the Delhi election results were declared, the Congress is still debating whether it was worth going solo in these polls. While the party’s Delhi unit is convinced it was the right decision, there is a section in the party which believes the move served no purpose as the Congress failed to make any impact but, instead, ended up isolating itself in the INDIA bloc. These leaders maintain the Congress may be drawing some comfort from the Aam Aadmi Party’s defeat but the reality is that it failed to uproot it. Even after being reduced to 22 seats, the AAP still has a healthy vote share of over 43 per cent, a mere two per cent behind the Bharatiya Janata Party. On the other hand, the Congress vote share went up by a meagre two per cent with only three of its candidates saving their deposits, a clear indication that the party has a long way to go before it can hope to emerge as a viable option in Delhi.

Ever since the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power, it has made concerted efforts to take over institutions which, it feels, are populated by the “Khan Market gang”. The Modi government succeeded in entrusting the administration of the Delhi Gymkhana Club to its nominees thanks to the infighting among its members. The India Habitat Centre was next. Retired diplomat Bhaswati Mukherjee, who recently joined the Bharatiya Janata Party, is well entrenched as the president of the India Habitat Centre. She is tightening her grip on the programming, ensuring that it reflects the BJP’s worldview. And now it is the turn of the India International Centre. Nripendra Misra, former principal secretary to the Prime Minister and head of the chairman of the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple construction committee, is said to have filed his nomination for the election to the IIC’s Board of Trustees. National security adviser Ajit Doval is learnt to have signed his nomination papers. This election is obviously a high stakes battle for the ruling dispensation which wants to deny dissenting voices a platform here.

Though they hold a constitutional position, the current crop of state governors, appointed by the BJP, have come under increasing attack from their political opponents for conducting themselves in a partisan manner. Delhi’s lieutenant governor Vinai Kumar Saxena is counted as one among them. He was constantly locked in battle with the outgoing Aam Aadmi Party government which charged that Mr Saxena was deliberately stalling its programmes. Little wonder then that BJP circles do not hesitate to give due credit to Mr Saxena for the party’s win in Delhi. Days after the election results were declared, several hoardings in the capital with congratulatory messages on the BJP victory displayed Mr Saxena’s picture along with that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Winter parties, hosted by political leaders, have been an annual feature in the capital for years now. Rajya Sabha MPs Abhishek Singhvi and Kapil Sibal played host to media-persons on their sprawling lawns last week while the “kisan lunch” organised every winter by Sachin Pilot, former deputy chief minister of Rajasthan, will take place on Monday. However, there has been one notable exception this year which has not escaped attention. Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s elaborate “Makar Sakranti” lunch is held every year in January. But not so this winter. It can be safely assumed that Mr Hooda is lying low after the Congress’s dismal performance in last year’s Haryana Assembly polls, especially since he was confident of leading the party to a comfortable victory. In fact, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also known to have commented to Mr Hooda that he was not to be seen these days when the two met recently at Balram Jakhar’s grandson’s wedding reception. Mr Hooda’s supporters, on the other hand, believe he should have gone ahead with the “Makar Sakranti” lunch to showcase his strength and build pressure on the Congress leadership which is still dithering over the appointment of the Leader of Opposition in the Haryana Assembly.