Title: Power and prestige: On the Delhi Assembly elections 2025
Delhi is not much more than a Union Territory with limited powers for its legislature and government. The division of powers between the Lieutenant Governor and the provincial government has been a matter of perennial debate, and has curtailed the role of the latter. Yet, the Delhi Assembly elections are no less prestigious than that of any other State. Hosting the capital city and a humongous population that has burgeoned significantly, as the National Capital Region remains a magnet for employment, commerce and livelihoods, Delhi is a melting pot. Increasingly, class and welfare issues have become salient in Delhi’s elections even as identity issues have become less determinant of political fortunes. Delhi has urbanised dramatically, with some of India’s highest net worth families in posh neighbourhoods, living cheek by jowl alongside slums housing the working class and the urban poor. There is a large middle class no longer just employed in the massive government apparatus in the capital city. The metropolis is also host to small businesses, factories and services employing the many migrants from the hinterlands of north India. Civic concerns abound in each of these segments, making the Delhi elections unique. The three main political parties, AAP, the BJP and the Congress, must address these concerns in their campaigns and cannot focus on just identity and patronage politics.
As Delhi gets to vote today, it will be known whether the pattern of voting in recent election cycles, for the BJP at the Centre and favouring AAP in the Assembly will remain. AAP has managed to successfully get the support of a coalition of middle and lower class voters through its welfarist measures and by fostering an image of being a crusader for clean governance, helping it rule the roost in the past two elections. This time, however, its anti-corruption plank and image have taken a beating after its key leaders, Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, were arrested for their roles in the liquor policy case. “Stand-in” Chief Minister Atishi has sought to reorient the party’s image even as it has doubled down on its welfarist message with a slew of sops targeting its core support base. The BJP has had to focus on emphasising its own welfarism in response while the Congress has tried hard to regain its lost base. Yet, the campaigns have been full of vituperation and mudslinging with little by way of a clear position on how to tackle the core issues — the air pollution in particular. As the dust clears, the electorate will have to choose candidates who are able to rise above narrow mindedness and cater to the aspirations of residents of what could well be India’s most populous city today.
Meaning of the word:
| Word | Meaning | Synonyms | Antonyms |
| Perennial | Definitions of perennial. adjective. lasting an indefinitely long time; suggesting self-renewal | Everlasting, Enduring, Persistent, Continuous | Temporary, Ephemeral, Momentary, Short-lived |
| Burgeoned | Burgeoned (verb – past tense of burgeon) means to grow rapidly, expand, or develop quickly. | Flourished, Expanded, Thrived, Boomed | Declined, Diminished, Withered, Shrunk |
