Even as it gets down to the challenge at hand, the AAP would be worried that its vote share has fallen from 53 per cent in the 2020 assembly polls to 42 per cent in the municipal election and that despite 15 years of incumbency in the MCD, the BJP bagged 39 per cent votes, just about two per cent less than what it got in the 2020 assembly poll.
Its challenge begins now. Delivering on its promises of public goods and services with efficiency and transparency is the only way forward for the AAP if it wants to build on its narrow victory.
By: Editorial
December 8, 2022 4:04:51 am
With its victory in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) polls, the AAP now controls the state as well as the local body. It has its task cut out in the national capital. There will be the unelected but powerful office of the Lieutenant Governor watching over its shoulders, and the Narendra Modi government at the Centre, looking for its opportunity. The AAP, which ran an aggressive campaign against the BJP will now face a test of its governance capabilities at the grass roots and also a challenge to its negotiating skills vis a vis the LG’s office and the Centre. The people of Delhi will want the party to hit the ground running.
Delhi is where it started for the AAP in 2013, riding on the popularity of the Anna Hazare-led anti-corruption movement. Today, as it aims to grow into a national party, its performance here will be crucial. The AAP’s national ambitions and the BJP’s desire to dominate every tier of the government — local, state and central — had raised the stakes in these elections in the national capital, which is, in any case, a high-visibility arena. Both the AAP and BJP have promised a clean-up of the city’s environment if voted to office. Pollution and garbage were high on the list of priorities of all parties, raising hopes that the spotlight on them will outlast the elections. Air pollution is as complex a matter as it is pressing – it requires a coordinated effort from multiple governments and agencies: With governments in Punjab and Delhi, the AAP is well placed to make a headway on it now. The harnessing of technology and localised solutions, alongwith civic campaigns to segregate wet and dry garbage, could be a beginning towards tackling the mountains of waste that scar the city. The municipal administration must also shore up its resource management by better utilising land and properties vested with it as well as improving tax collection. Any enhancement in finances can reduce the municipal body’s dependence on hand-outs from both state and central governments.
Even as it gets down to the challenge at hand, the AAP would be worried that its vote share has fallen from 53 per cent in the 2020 assembly polls to 42 per cent in the municipal election and that despite 15 years of incumbency in the MCD, the BJP bagged 39 per cent votes, just about two per cent less than what it got in the 2020 assembly poll. Delivering on its promises of public goods and services with efficiency and transparency is the only way forward for the AAP if it wants to build on its narrow victory in Delhi.
© The Indian Express (P) Ltd