In the days leading up to the 2020 Delhi Assembly elections, the BJP brought out its big guns for campaigning. PM Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and UP CM Yogi Adityanath held multiple rallies and election meetings in a bid to boost BJP's fortunes in Delhi. In 2015, Delhi had won just three out of seventy seats — Rohini, Vishwas Nagar and Mustafabad. Did the campaigning firepower of Shah, Modi and Adityanath help BJP? Let's take a look.
For live updates on the results, read here.
PM Modi’s Jibe at Shaheen Bagh
PM Modi actively campaigned for BJP candidates in Delhi, addressing rallies in Karkardooma in East Delhi and Dwarka in West Delhi. His speech at Karkardooma made headlines when he said there was “politics” going on behind the indefinite sit-in at Shaheen Bagh, and that the anti-CAA protests in Shaheen Bagh, Seelampur and Jamia are “not coincidental.”
Karkardooma is spread out over two constituencies — Vishwas Nagar and Shahdara. In both the constituencies, BJP is leading, according to latest trends. Vishwas Nagar was won by BJP in 2015 and Om Prakash Sharma is leading over AAP's Deepak Singla in this “safe seat.”
His second rally was at Dwarka on 4 February. But it seems his rally didn't materialise into votes. AAP's Vinay Mishra is leading over BJP's Pradyumn Rajput in the constituency.
Amit Shah’s ‘Current’ Comment on Shaheen Bagh Doesn't Work
Amit Shah's rally in Babarpur in Delhi made headlines when a young man was beaten up by the supporters of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for raising anti-CAA slogans. It was in Babarpur that Amit Shah said, “When you press the EVM button on 8 February, do so with such anger that its current is felt at Shaheen Bagh.”
But the results show a different “current” in Babarpur. In Babarpur, AAP's Gopal Rai is leading over BJP's Naresh Gaur by over 25,000 votes.
Apart from Babarpur, Shah also held rallies in Kondli, Trilokpuri, Krishna Nagar and Gandhi Nagar. His strike rate for these four constituencies seems to be 50:50 — with AAP leading in Kondli and Trilokpuri and BJP leading in Krishna Nagar and Gandhi Nagar.
Shah also held a “Jansampark Abhiyan” rally in the Delhi Cantonment area. During the rally, Shah met BJP supporters and locals, and distributed pamphlets. But in the Delhi Cantonment area, AAP’s Virender Singh Kadian is leading over BJP’s Manish Singh.
‘Yogi Factor’ No More?
UP Chief Minister joined the Delhi election juggernaut in the last leg. Yogi Adityanath campaigned in Delhi for four days.
Through his campaign speeches, Adityanath brought nationalistic fervour to the campaign and took jibes at Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal.
In a rally in Vikaspuri, he said, “Why a Pakistani minister is making statements in support of Arvind Kejriwal? Because he knows that only Kejriwal can feed biryani to protesters in Shaheen Bagh.”
But did his speech make an impact? In Vikaspuri, AAP's Mahinder Yadav is leading over BJP's Sanjay Singh by over 15,000 votes.
Yogi Adityanath also held a rally in Karawal Nagar, where BJP's Mohan Singh Bisht is leading over AAP's Durgesh Pathak by a margin of nearly 20,000 votes.
In Okhla — where Shaheen Bagh and Jamia are located — Adityanath addressed a rally where he took a jibe at Shaheen Bagh. In Okhla, AAP’s Amanatullah Khan is leading over BJP’s Braham Singh by a massive margin of more than 60,000 votes. Adityanath’s rally in Patparganj also didn’t translate into votes with AAP’s Manish Sisodia leading in the constituency.
His rallies in seats like Karawal Nagar, Shahdara and Rohini seemed to have benefited BJP, since the party is leading in all three constituencies. However, in Adarsh Nagar and Narela, his speeches seemed to not have much impact with AAP leading in these two constituencies.
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