Aunty incumbency: Yes, we can afford Congress, say Delhiites

Sheila Dikshit is unarguably the Aunty No 1 of Delhi politics, the genial woman who the commoner and the elite could readily identify and connect with. Her hat-trick in Delhi has catapulted her into the chief ministerial hall of fame that has very few leaders.

And given the dissent she was facing from within the party, coupled with anti-incumbency, her return to power is commendable, to say the least.

As for the BJP, it will have to contend with another five years in the Opposition. Its projection of
Mr V K Malhotra as the chief ministerial candidate failed to work wonders. His smiling, larger-than-life posters could not make a dent in Ms Dikshit���s image as a real politician who swears by her development initiatives, visible all over the city, and yet is candid enough to admit that she gets hurt by dissidents��� campaign against her.

The Delhi polls, coming as it did just as the commandos were finishing operations against Mumbai attackers on November 29, may have handed out issues like terror to the BJP on a platter.

Mr Malhotra and his men did try, putting out advertisements in newspapers denouncing Congress��� ���weak anti-terror policy��� but Delhiites, obviously, were not impressed. Also mattered more than even the rising prices was giving Ms Dikshit an extended tenure to complete the development works ��� flyovers, underpasses and rapid transport systems like BRT and the metro ��� that she had initiated over the last 10 years.

Ahead of the poll, the BJP camp was extremely upbeat about bouncing back, helped by anti-incumbency, dissent within the ruling party and ready poll themes like inflation, terrorism and alleged corruption behind BRT corridor deal. It even tided over the lack of a ���face��� to lead BJP by zeroing in on Mr Malhotra as the chief ministerial candidate. The announcement, however, came at the eleventh hour, and Mr Malhotra was just not connected with the electorate all this while to have made an impact strong enough to unseat Ms Dikshit.

Anti-incumbency, a foregone conclusion for a ruling party after 10 years in office, did raise its head, only to be crushed by split in such votes between BJP and the new contender of the block ��� BSP. The ultimate beneficiary turned out to be Congress.

Even as the BJP faltered in not being able to reach out to the people with the right leader and campaign themes, Ms Dikshit rode high on her popular image as a graceful, charming and dedicated politician ��� who takes as much pride in her role as a doting grandmother as in discharging her responsibilities towards the uplift and development of Delhi.

Even her terming murdered journalist Soumya Vishwanathan���s decision to drive alone at 3 am on Delhi roads as ���adventurous��� failed to turn the electorate against her. Many seem to have connected with the statement, unsure if they would approve of their daughters being out alone late in the night.

Even the Batla House encounter was a non-issue for the average Muslim voter in Delhi. This is evident from the win of Congress candidate Pervez Hashmi from Okhla, which houses Jamia Nagar.

Ms Dikshit, apart from humbling BJP, has also scored over her detractors within the Congress. Her third straight victory should silence the Ram Babu Sharmas once and for all. Her opponents within the party had rarely missed an opportunity in the last couple of years to have her dislodged from the chief minister���s chair. So much so, even the national leadership was forced to appoint Mr Sharma, a known Dikshit baiter, as the Delhi PCC chief on poll eve. Yet, the Congress desisted from replacing Ms Dikshit ��� a decision that has been proved right now.