The BJP is unlikely to project a chief ministerial candidate for the February Delhi elections, opting instead to let Prime Minister Narendra Modi take the lead in a vigorous election campaign.

The party’s strategy is to leverage Modi’s image to strengthen the BJP’s chances, particularly after his brand suffered a blow in the 2024 general election.

However, following successive victories in Haryana and Maharashtra, Modi’s popularity has rebounded, and his leadership is expected to play a crucial role in countering Arvind Kejriwal of the AAP.

The elections to the 70-member Delhi Assembly are highly significant as the BJP, Congress and the AAP — the three major players in the capital — are all vying for dominance.

The BJP has not been able to regain control of Delhi since 1998 despite its strong presence in the Hindi heartland. The Congress, which held power for three consecutive terms before being ousted by the most successful political start-up, the AAP, in 2014, is now striving to regain its influence.

Not being able to wrest Delhi continues to hurt Modi’s prestige. He has already held two rallies in the state, going all-out to term the incumbent AAP an “AAPda (disaster)” for Delhi. Party leaders said Modi was set to address more rallies to lead the campaign from the front, exhorting Delhi’s voters to opt for “badlav (change)” to embrace the BJP.

The setbacks in the Lok Sabha elections had seen brand Modi taking the hit and it was apparent in the Haryana elections where the Prime Minister had held just four rallies. The surprise victory in the Haryana elections, however, buoyed the leadership and in the subsequent Maharashtra polls, Modi led the campaign from the front.

“Modi hai to mumkin hai,” posted the BJP’s top Maharashtra leader and chief minister, Devendra Fadnavis, crediting the party’s best performance in the state to mascot Modi.

“Like Haryana and Maharashtra, local issues would be the focus of our campaign in Delhi with Modiji as the overarching face of the party. No one will be projected as the CM face and it will be a collective effort of the party under the leadership of Modiji,” a BJP leader said.

BJP managers said the party’s internal surveys led Modi to take the lead in Delhi. The surveys have shown that the AAP’s popularity and that of its leader, Kejriwal, have dipped substantially and the BJP stands a strong chance to wrest Delhi.

The attacks of Modi and the BJP have been focused on the coinage “Sheesh Mahal”, to refer to the ₹33 crore
renovation of the chief minister’s official 6 Flag Staff Road residence undertaken by
Kejriwal.

Party strategists are confident that the issue has caught the voters’ imagination as it demolishes Kejriwal’s well-cultivated “aam aadmi (common man)” image.

Apart from attempting to smear Kejriwal’s “anti-corruption” and “common man” image, the Prime Minister in his rallies has been focusing on local issues, seeking to directly challenge the AAP.

In one of his rallies, he sought to assure the people that the popular welfare schemes of the AAP such as free electricity, water and bus rides for women would not be scrapped. The AAP has been claiming that the BJP would scrap the schemes and realising their potential in the elections, Modi has come out with the assurance.

The BJP’s hopes are, however, heavily hinged on bitter rival Congress going out to contest the polls with a new-found vigour, putting at stake the unity of the Opposition INDIA bloc. “If the Congress makes the contest triangular and corners a chunk of the anti-BJP votes then it will clear the decks for our victory,” a BJP leader said.