Welcome AAP 3.0

After election results are out, its time to defend the position and stance that the party had taken prior to polling but that is proven woefully adverse by the actual results. Therefore, media as well as social media is replete with the reasons, causes, excuses and logics. A friend of mine, who is a staunch BJP supporter forwarded an analysis that has several cuts and slices basically to prove that while Muslims vote enbloc, Hindu votes are divided. Understandably, in Delhi elections, Muslims seem to have voted enbloc for AAP, as the analysis suggests ( generally, news doing rounds in social media should be believed with a pinch of salt – as I saw in another social media post, someone is suggesting disenfranchising Muslims , the logic being Belgium is going to be declared an Islamic nation with UK soon expected to follow suit! ).

If the above analysis is indeed true then it’s high time that the reasons for such a polarisation be identified and addressed. Why Muslims have inclined towards AAP? It certainly is no AIMIM and Kejriwal no Owaisi! The fact is that Kejriwal has emerged as Messiah of poor, weak and downtrodden by giving tremendous relief to people in this category through subsidised or free electricity, water and transportation. I understand that his Government also did exemplary work in the field of education. As poor, downtrodden and economically weakest sections of the society seem to have voted enbloc for Kejriwal, he has scored this glorious victory. Unfortunately, majority of Muslims also fall in this category.

It’s a fact that BJP and especially Modi were gaining acceptability amongst a section of Muslims. We had read that Muslim women were happy with abolition of triple talaq and that in in some elections they had queued up to vote for BJP. This is certainly a set back for the party, but it’s not late. Increasingly, this nation seems to be veering around efficiency and solid work rather than ideology, the only ideology acceptable being the constitution very deftly drafted by our visionary leaders. BJP would be missing the wood for the trees if it analyses the Delhi verdict as an outcome of polarisation rather than emergence of a new formula of feeling the woes of the poor sensitively.