LettersIndia’s Delhi elections: a rejection of the BJP’s divisive politics but also the once-great Congress party

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Rahul Gandhi, former president of the Indian National Congress, and his mother Sonia Gandhi at a meeting last August. The Congress was once led by national leaders Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 6:10am, 19 Feb 2020Updated: 1:19pm, 19 Feb 2020

With reference to your report “Kejriwal’s Delhi victory has the BJP blushing. Can he fight Modi for India?” (February 12), it is true that Mr Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) comprehensively trounced the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, led by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in the Legislative Assembly elections in the capital city of New Delhi, winning 62 of the 70 seats.

The BJP had carried out a rancorous campaign, touching new lows in public conduct. The people of Delhi kept their cool and voted for the AAP, which has done wholesome work on the ground. In doing so, the people have also rejected the BJP’s divisive politics based on religious considerations.

Prime Minister Modi should counsel his party members to cease indulging in religious politics and whipping up an unnecessary frenzy over emotional issues. His image will be tarnished if his party members do not uphold high standards in their debates and demeanour. The Indian economy is in the doldrums and should be top priority.

Religious bigotry has no place in this age of digitisation and technology. Jobs and homes are a concern of the young everywhere in the world. The gods we worship should be of private and personal concern.

A major tragedy of these elections is that the monolithic Indian National Congress, which administered the capital city for 15 years before the AAP came to power in 2013, did not win a single seat. Unless the Congress reinvents itself and becomes more relevant, this great party, once led by national leaders Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, faces extinction.