Interview/ Baijayant Panda, BJP election in-charge, Delhi
While the BJP has swept the last three Lok Sabha elections in Delhi, it has faltered at the assembly stage. Since October, Baijayant Panda, BJP national vice-president and Lok Sabha member from Odisha, has been spearheading the party’s campaign to break its “capital jinx”. In an interview with THE WEEK at his home, adorned with works of Jamini Roy and M.F. Husain, Panda was optimistic that Delhi voters were ready for change. Excerpts:
The BJP hasn’t been in power in Delhi since 1998. Do you think the streak will be broken this time? What issues are you focusing on?
The BJP will comfortably form the government in Delhi. The people have endured 10 years of this aapda (disaster), failed governance. They've been subjected to false promises—whether it’s cleaning the Yamuna or tackling pollution. Basic services like water supply are a shambles, with people forced to rely on bottled water because the Jal Board’s water quality is so poor it can cause typhoid. And to make matters worse, the Jal Board hasn’t submitted an audit [report] in seven years, which speaks volumes about corruption.
India is the world’s fifth-largest economy, with rapid development happening in other states. Yet, Delhi, the capital, looks anything but [developed]. Traffic, roads, health and education services have deteriorated. People want a change. They want relief from this aapda and are looking forward to double-engine governance for holistic development.
The BJP scores during the Lok Sabha polls, but cannot repeat this success in the assembly elections. Why?
In the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP consistently won over 51 per cent of the vote and all the seats in Delhi in the past three elections thanks largely to the unparalleled popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He is popular not just in India but across the world; we benefit from that. Previously, we’ve seen this pattern across the country—the BJP dominating Lok Sabha elections but not the state polls. That said, the tide is changing. We are getting more than 51 per cent of votes even during the state polls.
Over the past decade, our vote share in Delhi has grown significantly to over 40 per cent (in assembly elections) and it’s poised to break records this time. The boost also came when everyone saw we won tough states like Haryana, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Odisha. People see how BJP-ruled states are thriving and realise they’ve been deprived of similar governance here. The dissatisfaction with the current government’s failures has created a strong anti-incumbency wave in our favour.
The AAP has an advantage of a clear chief minister face, while the BJP hasn’t declared one. Isn’t that a disadvantage?
Quite the opposite. The so-called chief minister face of the AAP had to resign because of a major corruption scandal. The Supreme Court’s bail conditions prevent him from functioning as chief minister. He's not allowed to go into the chief minister’s office so as not to bring wrong influence on decisions; he's not allowed to sign files. They insulted their own chief minister (Atishi), who happens to be a woman, by saying she's a temporary chief minister. So it is for them to answer who is going to lead their team if the leader (Kejriwal) is legally unable to. Truth is, they don’t have a face. Our situation is different. At the national level, we have a hugely popular leadership, and at the state level, we have developed our leaders from the cadre. In the past 12 months, in states like Odisha, Haryana and Maharashtra, we have won with collective leadership. That formula works. The aapda is trying to distract attention away from its failures.
All parties have promised sops for women. Are such sops now intrinsic to Delhi?
We will announce more 100 commitments to voters. Before Prime Minister Modi established this trend, all other parties used to treat their manifesto as just a formality. The media never used to ask them about their promises. Now, if you look at our track record, under Prime Minister Modi, we have implemented more than 99 per cent of all the promises that we included in our Sankalp Patra. In Odisha, which we won seven months ago, more than 70 per cent of the promises have already been implemented. The prime minister himself has focused right from the beginning on women’s rights, from Beti Padhao, Beti Bachao to tackling malnutrition. To come to our sankalp (promise), financial assistance to women, assistance to pregnant women, assistance to women in kitchen through LPG cylinders, these are all things that we have already done in other states. Whereas the aapda has been exposed because three years ago, they announced a similar financial assistance for women in Punjab and Delhi, but have not [delivered].
How does the BJP plan to counter the popularity of the AAP schemes such as free electricity and water?
Let me clarify the propagandathey are trying to spread. BJP leaders, including the prime minister, have stated categorically that no welfare schemes benefiting the poor will be discontinued. We ourselves run many welfare programmes, like free ration for 800 million and the Ayushman Bharat scheme. The difference is that, whatever we commit, we first budget for it with reasonable fiscal estimates. The AAP has irresponsibly run institutions into the ground, like the Jal Board and the Delhi Transport Corporation.
There are certain things that we do that Prime Minister Modi insists on. We are fiscally responsible. We don't promise without vetting thoroughly, and when we do promise, we implement. Most important, we deliver it corruption-free. We have set that example right from the prime minister's first year in office.
The BJP believes in fiscally responsible, corruption-free welfare programmes. Look at the rooftop solar programmes we’ve implemented. These provide free energy, generate income for households and are sustainable. That’s the difference: we deliver what we promise responsibly and transparently.
Kejriwal has claimed that the BJP promising to continue his social welfare schemes is a stamp of approval on his model of governance.
Nobody wants to copy his model of corruption. Nobody wants to copy his model where he says water is free, but they steal thousands of crores from the Jal Board. They make it defunct and they give this horrible water.
Nobody wants to copy his model of saying free transport in DTC, but only one-third of the buses are available. We are committing that the DTC will have the full number of buses.
Nobody wants to copy his model of promising on his children that he will live in a two-bedroom flat, and then building this sheesh mahal (crystal palace) with gold-plated basins and toilets worth millions of rupees, upholstery worth crores, 70 to 80 high-end audio-visual systems. Nobody wants to copy that model. People of Delhi definitely want to throw out that model.
Given that the BJP has promised several sops, does it mean that Prime Minister Modi’s campaign against freebies is over?
India is a large country; it needs welfare programmes. Our welfare programmes our fiscally responsible and do not bankrupt the state. Though aapda has promised free electricity, yet thousands get bills. There is some Rs26,000 crore in unpaid dues to the discoms.
They have repeated the same fake promises and got away with it for three elections. But there's an old saying, ‘You can fool some of the people all the time. You can fool all the people some of the time. But you can't fool all the people all the time.’ And this time their time is up.
Does the BJP have a solution for Delhi’s pollution?
You will find some of the cleanest cities in India in BJP-governed states. While aapda has promised to clean the Yamuna every year, it is appalling that they have not given funds for the pollution board. Their approach has been conflict rather than governance. They have not taken thousands of crores of rupees available from the Modi government, for example for Ayushman Bharat, because he (Kejriwal) thinks Modi ji will [get the credit]. Other non-BJP states (barring West Bengal) have availed of it.
What is the BJP doing to gain the trust of the people in the slums, who have traditionally voted for the AAP?
They have won three elections because of freebies. People in the slums are angry as they have to buy water because the supply is poor or the quality is bad. They have limited disposable income. In the past 10 years, fake promises have been made to manipulate their votes.
For the past six months, the BJP cadre, its senior leaders, MPs and MLAs have been going to the slum clusters every Sunday to interact with the people. The condition they are living in is pathetic. We have won their confidence. A significant difference will be seen in this category of voters. They want to give the BJP a chance.
The BJP has criticised the AAP government’s policies on education and health care. What is your party’s alternative?
How can they call their health care [policies] a success when they have not availed of thousands of crores [of rupees] available to them. The mohalla clinics were not used during Covid-19. As for the schools, they have tried to create the propaganda that by remodelling one school, all schools have been changed. Not many people know that dozens of schools have been closed in the past 10 years. They spend more on advertising than bigger states do.
The BJP has made it clear that we will bring schemes from theUnion government and run a conflict-free government. The double-engine government will be run in collaboration with the Unionurban development ministry, the DDA (Delhi Development Authority) and the MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi). You will see a dramatic turn. We are also committed to revamping education with a special focus on the underprivileged. We are going to implement it in the first cabinet meeting after forming the government.
The BJP is often criticised for inflation and the rising cost of living.
The Modi government inherited a disaster from the UPA government. In the past 10 years, it has been converted into a virtuous cycle. India continues to be the fastest-growing economy. The inflation has been tempered in comparison with other major economics. Despite global challenges like the pandemic and energy crises due to wars, we’ve managed inflation better than most nations. Massive investments in renewable energy and startups have created jobs and built resilience.
In Delhi, inflation is exacerbated by the collapse of public services. Poor public transport forces people to rely on private vehicles, raising costs. Addressing these issues through robust governance will directly reduce living costs.
Law and order and women’s safety are serious concerns. Policing is under the Centre. How will things change if the BJP comes to power?
Of course it will change. How many AAP leaders have been arrested, not just for corruption? One of their prominent MLAs is in jail charged under the stringent MCOCA (Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act). Just like dons, he calls up and extorts money. Many of their leaders are involved in illegal activities.
Now they can try to shift the blame, but it's not that simple, because if your leader and ministers are associating with the liquor mafia, will there not be crime?
The police are there to control crime, but crime has to be stopped at the source. You have to rid the Delhi government of corruption and criminal elements.
Would the Congress doing well in these polls help the BJP?
The Congress can never help the BJP; it is on its own trajectory. It is in a battle for survival as it has lost ground in many parts of India and remains a third or fourth player. The Congress has experimented with coalitions and alliances, but it still lost the Lok Sabha polls. Its game is how to stop the BJP and not how to develop [the country].
How will the lives of people in Delhi change under a double-engine government?
Every day, aapda comes up with a new excuse to not take funds from the Central government thinking Modi will become more popular. He doesn't need more popularity; he is already the world's most popular leader.
[If the BJP wins,] it will be conflict-free governance. We will not be just constantly blaming neighbouring states and not doing our job. Tens of thousands of crores of rupees are on offer from the Modi government. We will take it, we will develop infrastructure in Delhi, we will create jobs and we will address the concerns of the poor through the financial support schemes we have announced.