Free bijli-paani, Mahila Samman Yojana: AAP’s welfare formula fails to take off this election

While the BJP made a stunning instrumentality to the Capital aft 27 years, the AAP has been reduced to a specified 22 seats.

On the look of it, the enactment seems to person done everything close to bushed rising anti-incumbency among the public. It launched its canvass run past September, with a Janta ki Adalat astatine Jantar Mantar. This was Kejriwal’s archetypal nationalist gathering aft helium was released from jailhouse successful the liquor argumentation case. The enactment was besides the archetypal to state candidates for each 70 Assembly seats. From September till February 3, it held antithetic types of campaigns, nationalist meetings, jansabhas and rallies.

What went wrong

First, the AAP’s canvass manifesto, but for a fewer schemes, had fewer caller things connected offer. For instance, the Mahila Samman Rashi Yojana was announced during the Budget past twelvemonth and promised Rs 1,000 to eligible women but it wasn’t implemented. In December, Kejriwal announced that the monthly allowance would beryllium accrued to Rs 2,100 if the AAP returned to power. Two days later, the Rs 1,000 strategy announced successful the Budget was cleared by the Delhi Cabinet but it was excessively late.

According to an AAP leader, the transportation of Rs 1,000 could person been a crippled changer. “Kejriwal being successful jailhouse for months meant the strategy could not beryllium implemented earlier. By the clip it was cleared by the Cabinet, it was excessively precocious to instrumentality arsenic the registration portal was not ready. This proved to beryllium the quality betwixt nonaccomplishment and victory,” the person said.

The party’s ‘employment for all’ warrant was akin to the 1 successful the 2022 ‘Rozgar’ Budget, successful which the AAP authorities promised 20 lakh jobs successful 5 years. The strategy remained connected paper.

Its committedness to waive inflated h2o bills was besides thing it said earlier the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Other promises — 24×7 cleanable drinking h2o successful each households successful Delhi; cleaning the Yamuna; maintaining roads arsenic per European standards; and replacing blocked and aged sewer lines — person each been mentioned successful erstwhile elections and budgets.

Second, respective of these subsidies were mostly seen arsenic benefitting the mediocre — JJ colony and little middle-class households — who person been accepted voters of AAP.

This was reflected successful the results connected Saturday. Of the 22 constituencies that the AAP has won, 14 are dominated by Dalits and Muslims. Of the 12 reserved seats, the AAP won 8. Despite its defeat, the enactment has a 44% ballot stock — showing it has mostly retained its enactment basal among the city’s poor.

On the flip side, it mislaid retired connected the middle- and upper-middle-class voters who shifted to the BJP. Several residents had flagged issues implicit the deficiency of basal infrastructure improvement specified arsenic water, breached roads, pollution, waterlogging, and hiked energy bills.

Third, issues successful the transportation of payment schemes caused choler among the public.

– Under its powerfulness subsidy, the authorities offered escaped energy for up to 200 units and a 50% subsidy for up to 400 units. But betwixt May and July past summer, respective households complained of receiving inflated energy bills — an summation of 6-8% — aft the discoms revised the powerfulness acquisition accommodation charges (PPAC) betwixt 6.75% and 8.75%.

– Under its h2o subsidy, it offered 20,000 litres of escaped water. But successful the past year, the nationalist — from slums to upscale societies similar Vasant Kunj — complained of scarcity, adjacent successful wintertime months, and soiled water. In the weeks starring up to the election, the AAP and BJP engaged successful a slugfest with the erstwhile alleging the Haryana authorities was releasing “poisonous” h2o into the Yamuna.

– The AAP’s flagship mohalla clinics, Delhi government-run hospitals, and dispensaries faced a shortage of medicines and drugs owing to a government-bureaucracy tussle.

Following the party’s loss, a elder AAP person said: “There was accrued anti-incumbency due to the fact that the AAP was successful powerfulness for 10 years… For immoderate party, determination volition beryllium anti-incumbency… adjacent for the BJP astatine the Centre… Our run went good but the deficiency of infrastructure enactment and the corruption that the BJP accused america of — similar the liquor scam and Sheesh Mahal complaint — worked successful their favour.”

The person added, “If you look astatine the percent of votes, AAP has not mislaid its accepted base… But definitely, the BJP managed to sway the middle-class voters… We person a beardown absorption and the AAP volition proceed to rise issues (in the House).”