Delhi poll debacle: Not enough to put responsibility only on Kiran Bedi, Shiv Sena tells BJP

Mumbai: Not just its opponents, but its allies too are mocking the Bharatiya Janata Party for debacle in Delhi Assembly Elections.

In an edit in its mouthpiece Saamna, Shiv Sena made a scathing attack at the party, saying it was not enough to put responsibility only on BJP's chief ministerial candidate Kiran Bedi.

Attacking ally BJP, the Shiv Sena today asked the people of Maharashtra to take lessons from the outcome of Delhi Assembly results.

"Delhi has embraced 'Paanch Saal, (Arvind) Kejriwal'. The people of Maharashtra must learn from this. They should ponder and move ahead in that direction, that is the outcome of Delhi," the Shiv Sena said.

It said the trend started three months ago when the Narendra Modi 'wave' was halted in Maharashtra, but now the 'tsunami' has reached Delhi.

The Delhi Assembly results proved that a 'tsunami' is more powerful than a 'wave' and emphatically reiterated Gandhian Anna Hazare's view that it was "a debacle for Modi", it said.

Not accepting the contention blaming Kiran Bedi for the BJP rout, the Saamna said all BJP leaders labeled the AAP leader as 'bhagoda' (deserter) during the campaign, but entire Delhi solidly supported Kejriwal.

"(Prime Minister Narendra) Modi now lives in Delhi, but his 'brahmastra' failed to work at such close quarters, even (BJP chief) Amit Shah's magic didn't work," the Sena said, in a direct attack on the two BJP bigwigs.

It conceded that the BJP was an old friend of Shiv Sena, and it succeeded all over India, barring the national capital where the lotus failed to bloom and added that even US President Barack Obama couldn't breath life into its wilted petals.

"You can't win elections with only promises and speeches. Modi's popularity and Shah's election strategies were at stake here, but a virtual non-entity like Kejriwal uprooted and threw them away. How was this possible?" the edit asked.

It listed the reasons as: the unemployed have still got no jobs, inflation has not been curbed, people without shelter continue to remain homeless, and poll promises have not been fulfilled.

Even the party workers were unhappy that an outsider leader like Bedi was thrust upon them and the electorate, besides the totally negative campaign against Kejriwal and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi which rebounded on the BJP.

On the other hand, Kejriwal went around with folded hands and sought peoples' forgiveness for past mistakes -- "I only quit the government. I did not become corrupt,", which the people accepted, the Saamna pointed out.

It said in 2014 Lok Sabha election, Modi ensured there was no opposition left in Parliament, but despite his presence in Delhi, the BJP failed to get a decent strength as an opposition party in the Assembly.

"The people of Delhi have given three seats as 'charity' (daan) to BJP, and the Congress has been wiped out."

The Shiv Sena advised BJP that just as it celebrated victory (in elections) till now, its must accept defeat too, and learn some lessons from it.

In one of the most stunning comebacks in Indian political history, Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday scored a landslide victory in Delhi, delivering to the BJP its first defeat since its historic Lok Sabha triumph and reducing the Congress, which ruled the capital for 15 years till 2013, to a virtual nonentity.

The 27-month-old party grabbed a sensational 67 of the 70 seats in the Delhi Assembly, leaving just three seats to the Bharatiya Janata Party -- the highest victory margin for any party in Delhi so far.

The BJP suffered far more humiliation, with its chief ministerial candidate Kiran Bedi, who had been personally picked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, losing to a little known advocate of the AAP.

Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray had on Monday termed the AAP sweep a 'tsunami'. "This is a great day for democracy. It was not just a wave. It was a tsunami which swept Delhi. I agree with Anna Hazare that this is a defeat for Modi, not (Kiran) Bedi."

(With IANS inputs)

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