The battle lines have been drawn, the warriors are ready, the voters are all in readiness to caste their votes. It is that time of the year when the voters in Delhi will once again have to come out all guns blazing and caste their votes. The saffron Wave created by Narendra Modi is surely going to benefit the BJP. Kiran Bedi’s surprise entry into the BJP has created a lot of buzz already and even before anyone could guess, she was being projected as the forerunner the the post of Delhi’s Chief Minister.
Bedi’s induction into the Delhi unit of the BJP has not only filled in the leadership vaccum in the Delhi BJP unit, her inclusion has also resulted in minimizing AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal’s popularity as a new and fresh face in the field of politics. Bedi’s inclusion in the BJP has changed the way we look at the BJP. This is perhaps the first time that an outsider inducted into the Bhartiya Janata party has been made the party’s chief ministeral candidate. A majority of leaders in the BJP don’t have marketable value but with the surprise entry of Bedi into the party, the BJP is a clear favourite to win the battle of Delhi.
Bedi’s image as a controversial yet strict IPS officer gives her a slight edge over Kejriwal, whose party is largely depleted because of Bedi and Shazia Ilmi’s surprise exits from the party. BJP may have inducted Bedi in order to counter Kejriwal’s rising popularity. Kiran Bedi, who came into the political limelight after becoming a part of the India Against Corruption movement has now become the biggest name in the upcoming Delhi elections. analysts feel that Bedi is the strongest contender for the post the Delhi Chief Minister because she is a crusader, an agressive leader and an able administrator.
Many BJP leaders as well as the leaders from the RSS believe that Bedi was chosen because the present set of leaders in the Delhi BJP are not smart enough to withstand with the stiff challenge mounted by Kejriwal’s AAP. There have been protests over Kiran Bedi’s sudden inclusion in the party but the RSS feels that no present leader in the BJP is strong enough to challenge Kiran Bedi’s powerful image. This is were the brand value aspect has come into the picture. RSS is a highly practical organization and knows the significance and meaning of being in power.
On the other hand, many people feel that by inducting Kiran Bedi into the party, the BJP has pressed the “self destruction button”. A lot of people feel that Bedi may be influential but lacks experience on the political front. Many believe that Bedi’s vision of Delhi is that of a teacher. Moreover, the 65 year old has been scrutinized heavily by various political parties throughout the years of her service because of her controversial decisions.
The heat Intensifies further
Kejriwal, who became the chief minister of Delhi for a brief tenure of 49 days after the 2013 Delhi elections stepped down as the CM primarily because his party failed to get the Lokpal bill passed. Now, a lot of people are questioning him on whether he’ll be able to hold himself in power for a tenure of 5 years or not. But there is still a large section which is still supporting him because of his anti corruption movement and rebellious attitude. Kejriwal’s popularity has seen a dip after Bedi joined the BJP.
The upcoming elections in Delhi surely have a lot of surprises in store for the voters. It is going to be quite an adventure, not only for the parties, but also for the voters as well.
