Explained: The political history of Delhi

Who gets to govern Delhi? This question has loomed ample implicit Delhi’s authorities since the metropolis became the superior of British India successful 1911.

By 1919, the British had breached Delhi distant from the erstwhile Punjab province. The superior was efficaciously brought nether nonstop regularisation of the Viceroy, done a Chief Commissioner. After Independence, this strategy continued, but the Chief Commissioner was present nether the President of India.

When the Constitution was adopted connected Jaunuary 26, 1950, Delhi was classified arsenic a centrally administered Part-C state. It was 1 of 7 specified states — the others being Bhopal, Ajmer, Coorg, Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh, and Vindhya Pradesh — to person a legislative Assembly, though the powers of this Assembly were limited.

Brahm Prakash (right) and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. (Express Archive)

In the 1951-52 elections, Delhi had 42 Assembly constituencies, and 48 seats successful the Assembly successful full (six constituencies sent 2 members to the House). Congres secured 39 seats, the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (predecessor of the BJP) won five, portion the Socialist Party won two.

Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru chose Brahm Prakash, a 34-year-old Yadav husbandman and president of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee, arsenic Delhi’s archetypal Chief Minister, bypassing the claims made by Congress stalwart and Chandni Chowk MLA Dr Yudhvir Singh. Prakash took oath arsenic CM connected March 17, 1952.

Delhi Assembly is abolished

The young CM, however, soon clashed with the Chief Commissioner — overmuch similar Delhi CMs successful caller years person been clashing with Lieutenant Governors (LG) appointed by the Centre. The clash ended with Prakash’s eventual resignation connected February 12, 1955.

In an interrogation to the Prime Ministers’ Museum and Library (then the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library), Prakash said “[After] A D Pandit became Chief Commissioner, helium wanted to interfere successful each matter… helium did not similar immoderate elected representative…”.

Prakash besides spoke astir however his 1955 connection for carving retired a Maha Dilli — a authorities comprising Delhi, parts of Western UP, Punjab, and Rajasthan — was not received good by the Centre. This would person seen Delhi becoming a afloat state.

“This was opposed by the Congress’ UP leadership, peculiarly [then Union Home Minister] Govind Ballabh Pant who said that the onshore of Ram and Krishna cannot beryllium divided… Perhaps Panditji [Nehru] besides did not similar it… Politically, I had to wage a immense terms for that,” Prakash said.

After Prakash’s resignation, Daryaganj MLA Gurumukh Nihal Singh was sworn successful arsenic Chief Minister connected February 13. But his tenure would not past long.

Gurmukh Nihal Singh. (Express Archive)

The States Reorganisation Commission headed by Justice Fazl Ali submitted its study conscionable a fewer months aft Nihal Singh entered office. It notably said that “the aboriginal of Delhi has to beryllium determined chiefly by the important information that it is the spot of the Union Government”, and that it was “not surprising” that the “peculiar diarchical structure” successful spot astatine the clip had “not worked smoothly”. The Commission frankincense recommended that “a abstracted authorities government” for Delhi was nary longer required.

On November 1, 1956, Nihal Singh resigned, the Delhi Assembly was abolished, and Delhi became a Union Territory.

37 years of being a Union Territory

The Fazl Ali Commission had besides recommended handing implicit section governance to the radical of Delhi. The Delhi Municipal Corporation Act was frankincense passed successful 1957, and constituted a municipal corp for the full of Delhi. (The New Delhi Municipal Council was operational successful immoderate signifier oregon signifier from arsenic aboriginal arsenic 1913, but its jurisdiction was lone restricted to what is contiguous called Lutyen’s Delhi).

This did not, however, enactment an extremity to demands for statehood and an elected Assembly. The Delhi Administration Act of 1966 was meant to placate these demands. It provided for a Metropolitan Council, a antiauthoritarian assemblage comprising 56 elected members, and 5 members nominated by the President. However, this assemblage lone had recommendatory powers. The eventual decision-making authorization successful Delhi inactive vested with the Centre, done an LG oregon Administrator appointed by the President.

LK Advani (right) releasing the publication Kamal Shaashvat Sanskriti written by V K Malhotra (left). (Express Archive)

The Council’s archetypal polls were held successful 1967. Vijay Kumar Malhotra became the Chief Executive Councillor (CEC) portion L K Advani became the Council’s Chairman aft the Jana Sangh won 33 seats. In the 1972 polls, Congress won 44 seats, and Radha Raman became CEC. Mir Mushtaq Ahmed became the Chairman.

In 1977, the Janata Party won 46 seats. Kidar Nath Sahni became CEC and Kalka Dass the Chairman. In 1983, Congress returned to powerfulness with 34 seats. Jag Parvesh Chandra became CEC and Purushottam Goyal became the president of the Council.

Delhi gets an Assembly again

While it remained a UT, astir each person successful the superior fought for statehood, oregon astatine the precise slightest a due legislative Assembly with much than conscionable recommendatory powers. Finally, successful 1991, the P V Narasimha Rao authorities restored immoderate powers to the Delhi government.

Delhi was to person an Assembly with 70 seats. But its authorities was to person nary power implicit onshore (which remained with the DDA, a statutory assemblage nether the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs), and instrumentality and bid (Delhi Police stayed nether the Union Home Ministry). This strategy remains successful spot today.

Assembly elections held successful November 1993 were dominated by the BJP, with leaders specified arsenic Madan Lal Khurana, O P Kohli, and V K Malhotra starring the charge. The enactment won 49 seats, adjacent arsenic the Congress’ tally dropped to 14, successful nary tiny portion owed to the party’s relation successful the anti-Sikh riots that rocked the nationalist superior successful 1984. Khurana took oath arsenic the 3rd Delhi CM connected December 2.

In 1995, however, Khurana’s sanction appeared successful the infamous Hawala ungraded that implicated leaders crossed enactment lines. Due to mounting pressure, helium was forced to resign little than a twelvemonth later, paving the mode for Jat person Sahib Singh Verma to go the 4th Delhi CM connected February 27.

But the BJP continued to descent successful the nationalist capital, amidst rampant infighting and a enactment crisis. Just a fewer months up of the 1998 Assembly polls, Sushma Swaraj, who astatine the clip was the MP from South Delhi, was sworn successful arsenic CM connected October 13.

But this could not prevention the BJP’s sinking ship. Congress came to power, winning 52 seats. The enactment would regularisation Delhi for the adjacent 15 years.

The Sheila Dikshit years

In 1998, Congress’ caller president Sonia Gandhi appointed Sheila Dikshit arsenic the main of the party’s Delhi unit. The daughter-in-law of Uma Shankar Dikshit, a salient Congress person successful the 1960s and 1970s, Sheila Dikshit roseate to governmental prominence successful the 1980s, erstwhile she served successful Rajiv Gandhi’s assembly of ministers.

After she led the Congress to monolithic triumph successful Delhi successful 1998, Dikshit was rewarded with the Chief Ministership. She took oath for the archetypal clip connected December 3.

Sheila Dikshit (Express Photo/Prem Nath Pandey)

Dikshit strengthened the Congress’s clasp implicit Delhi, and went connected to go the longest serving pistillate CM successful the past of autarkic India. During her term, Delhi saw a spurt of infrastructural development, from the operation of tens of flyovers to the Delhi Metro. Dikshit besides championed Delhi buses switching to CNG, privatised powerfulness organisation companies, and trifurcated the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.

Meanwhile, the BJP struggled to enactment its enactment together. Ahead of the 2003 polls, though galore successful the enactment wanted younger leaders similar Arun Jaitley and Dr Harsh Vardhan to instrumentality the lead, the aged defender decided to erstwhile again task Khurana arsenic the party’s CM face. The BJP won lone 20 seats. Dikshit returned to powerfulness with 47.

Then successful 2008, the BJP looked past Harsh Vardhan erstwhile again, this clip successful favour of V K Malhotra, different older face. Despite facing dense anti-incumbency, Dikshit retained power, winning 43 retired of 70 seats.

After the results were announced, Advani and different BJP leaders complained to the Election Commission of India, alleging manipulation of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) by the Congress.

Rise of AAP, Kejriwal

By the clip the 2013 polls came along, the Congress was successful dire straits some nationally and successful Delhi. Manmohan Singh’s UPA authorities astatine the Centre had been rocked by a spate of corruption allegations which gave commencement to a almighty anti-graft question successful Delhi.

The ostensibly apolitical India Against Corruption movement, which peaked successful 2010-11, has had a lasting interaction connected India’s politics. Not lone did it pave the mode for Congress to beryllium removed from powerfulness astatine the Centre successful 2014, it besides introduced a caller subordinate successful the authorities of Delhi.

Arvind Kejriwal successful 2014. (Express Photo by Ravi Kanojia).

The Aam Aadmi Party was formed successful November 2012 by the likes of Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Prashant Bhushan, and Yogendra Yadav (the past 2 were expelled successful 2015), each of whom roseate to nationalist prominence connected the coattails of India Against Corruption. AAP came with the committedness of cleaning up politics, and ushering successful existent accountability.

Despite being little than a twelvemonth old, AAP successful the 2013 polls managed to triumph 28 seats, with Kejriwal defeating Dikshit successful the New Delhi constituency. Congress won lone 8 seats, and the BJP nether Harsh Vardhan 31.

With the Assembly hung, Kejriwal went backmost connected his committedness to “never instrumentality enactment from the Congress”, and became CM. But helium resigned aft lone 49 days, citing his nonaccomplishment to mobilise enactment for anti-corruption legislation.

Delhi would beryllium nether the President’s regularisation for astir a year, erstwhile polls were held again successful February 2015. This time, the BJP projected erstwhile IPS serviceman Kiran Bedi, different salient look during the IAC movement, arsenic its CM campaigner — with disastrous consequences.

Kejriwal and AAP won a whopping 67 of 70 seats. BJP was near with lone 3 seats, portion the Congress failed to unfastened its account. AAP comfortably returned to powerfulness successful 2020, winning 62 seats.