For AAP, bypolls have been a mixed bag

The second bypoll came in the same year in the month of August. This time it was because AAP legislator Ved Parkash quit the Delhi Assembly and joined BJP. “In two years’ time the people of Bawana saw the same person fighting from two different parties. This upset them,” said a BJP leader, reflecting on the bypoll that AAP won.

Not just for Vidhan Sabha, bypolls for MCD elections have thrown up plenty of surprises too. In March last year, the Aam Aadmi Party won four out of five seats in byelections but lost one seat of Chauhan Banger to the Congress. The BJP despite having a majority in all three MCDs lost its stronghold Shalimar Bagh.

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The Congress candidate Chaudhary Zubair Ahmad had at the time defeated AAP’s Mohd Ishraq Khan by a margin of over 10,000 votes. This came against the backdrop of the Northeast Delhi riots, where some felt the AAP government was not responsive enough. When asked about it, Deputy CM Manish Sisodia had attributed it to local factors and the candidate choices.

On BJP losing its stronghold of Shalimar Bagh, it was said that internal conflicts were responsible for the party losing the seat, along with rising anti-incumbency.

The latest victory in the Rajinder Nagar bypolls by AAP’s Durgesh Pathak is likely to reaffirm the party’s strategy of planning its campaign firmly around Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.