New Delhi: That Aam Aadmi Party was going to win the Delhi Assembly elections was never in doubt for those who had taken the pain to reach out directly to the electorate to gauge their mood.
Even a massive victory for AAP was very much in the air but nobody had expected the complete decimation of BJP and Congress, the way it has turned out to be.
What will you make of a battle when your commander herself loses the elections from a seat that was considered a party bastion and almost invincible for the opposition?
BJP's worst fears have come true in these elections. The defeat of Kiran Bedi from Krishna Nagar and a 3-67 score card leaves no one in doubt that the party's rank and file deserted Kiran Bedi completely and refused to accept her leadership.
But why did the BJP go for such a big gamble by thrusting Kiran Bedi, all of a sudden, on the party cadre? Everybody, including the RSS, was caught unawares when the party announced Bedi's CM candidature.
If media reports are to be believed, even RSS Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat was taken aback and a surprised Bhagwat asked one question- "who has taken this decision?"
The party must have explained to him why she was chosen but the damage was already done.
It is difficult to understand why Modi-Shah combine ignored the history of the party which has been always unkind to leaders with a non-RSS background?
BJP is a party where the rank and file has never accepted the leadership of any leader who was not a swayamsevak of RSS.
The most glaring examples are those of Yashwant Sinha and Sushma Swaraj.
Despite trying his level best, the Jharkhand unit of BJP refused to accept Yashwant Sinha as the leader because he was not from the RSS background and Sinha could not realize his dreams of becoming the CM.
This applies to Sushma Swaraj as well, who was never a formal part of RSS. Her acceptability in the party could not go beyond a certain point because of this very reason.
Why then did the Modi-Shah duo decide to impose Kiran Bedi on a reluctant cadre? Surely, Amit Shah needs to come up with a credible answer. Was it aimed at filling all crucial spots with hand-picked loyalists the way it was done in states like Maharashtra and Haryana?
Where was the need to change Harsh Vardhan as the face of Delhi BJP? It was Harsh Vardhan under whose leadership the party had won 32 seats, just four short of majority, in the 2013 Assembly elections. Why couldn't the party hand over the leadership baton once again to the safe and trusted hands of Harsh Vardhan?
As for Kiran Bedi, she clearly failed to connect, not only with the party workers, but with the voters as well.
Worse, she failed to connect even with the women voters of Delhi. To the electorate, she appeared too autocratic and lacked compassion that is expected from a woman.
“Kiran Bedi doesn't have the softness in behaviour that a woman is known for. She is very dictatorial and does not know how to communicate. She does not talk nicely,” Sarita, an employee of Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, had told India TV two days before polling took place.
It's a lesson for both Modi and Amit Shah that the party cadre is not in a mood to accept any whimsical decision imposed on them.
It should be a wakeup call for Modi-Shah combination and they should do the course correction for upcoming elections in Bihar, West Bengal and UP.
Modi should also realize that the people have started wondering whether he will deliver on promises he made during the 2014 Lok Sabha campaign. The common man wants to know what is he actually doing to fulfill promises like 24x7 electricity, potable water and roads to every village. He has already gone back on his promise to bring black money within first 6 months of his rule, notwithstanding all the roadblocks Arun Jaitley has counted as the reason for not fulfilling this promise. Was Modi, as three-term CM of Gujarat , not aware of these constraints when he made these promises?
Till date, foreign policy seems to be his main area of focus but Modi seems to have forgotten that it's the domestic policies that win elections for a leader.
Finally, if there is one single factor that worked in favour of AAP then it was the poor record of Delhi Police. Ask any common man, he will tell you that during 49-days rule of Kejriwal, the police did not dare to harass them and it was a big relief to them.
It will not be wrong to say that the corruption in police system played a major role in commoners, cutting across caste, creed and religion, joining hands and rallying behind Arvind Kejriwal led AAP.
Narendra Modi and Amit Shah should know that no strategy, howsoever cleverly it's crafted, can withstand the fury of voters if they have made up their minds.
And who can realize this better than Modi himself who won the 2014 Lok Sabha election with a clear majority despite all of his opponents launching a virtual crusade against him.
It was the power of democracy that catapulted a tea-seller to 7, Race Course Road and the same power has brought back Arvind Kejriwal as the CM of Delhi.
Modi should not mind it because it's time to celebrate the victory of democracy. And latest reports suggest that the PM has already invited the CM-designate for a cup of tea.
