For a decade, the BJP could only gnash its teeth in frustration as Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party ruled the nation’s capital right under the nose of the country’s ruling party.

Now, following successive poll victories in Haryana and Maharashtra and a perceived dent in Kejriwal’s image as an incorruptible “common man”, the saffron party is suddenly suffused with hope and ambition ahead of the Delhi elections, expected in February.

The BJP has launched a no-holds-barred offensive — from mocking posters against Kejriwal to official investigations into his latest populist proposal — to try and stop the country’s most successful political start-up from defying the “Modi magic” again and scoring a hat-trick.

After forming a short-lived alliance government in 2014, the then fledgling AAP had swept the 2015 and 2020 elections on governance and welfare planks, exasperating a BJP that was unable to replicate its general election victories in the Delhi Assembly polls.

On Tuesday, the BJP accused Kejriwal of being a “chunavi (electoral) Hindu”, a day after he had announced a monthly dole of ₹18,000 for pujaris and granthis, appearing to betray nervousness ahead of the polls.

A poster, titled “Chunavi Hindu”, posted on social media by the BJP portrayed Kejriwal in a priest-like avatar. The accompanying text said: “Visiting temples for me is a cunning guise, respect for priests is an election façade, I’ve always ridiculed
Sanatana Dharma.”

At a media briefing, BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said: “Kejriwal, who practises appeasement politics, had promised a dole of ₹18,000 for maulvis too. They haven’t received this for the last 17 months. Now, he is trying to bluff the pujaris and granthis.”

BJP managers believe that the stint behind bars in the Delhi excise scam has sullied Kejriwal’s image as an anti-corruption crusader and that they need only to keep up the heat on him till the elections to taste victory.

They are also confident of having busted Kejriwal’s other big political asset — his image as a “common man” — by exposing the lavish refurbishment of the chief minister’s residence on his watch.

The BJP recently released a video that purports to provide a tour of the chief minister’s bungalow in Delhi’s Civil Lines. It shows a well-equipped gym, a spa-cum-bathroom, a sensor-equipped shower, a massage table and a jacuzzi, among other things. The video is accompanied by a rap song, titled Delhi ka millionaire.

So far, the AAP has been unable to specifically counter the BJP’s charge that it is using taxpayers’ money to turn the chief minister’s official residence into a “mahal” (palace).

It has merely riposted that the BJP is targeting Kejriwal because he had castigated the central government over the worsening law and order in Delhi. The capital’s police report to the central government.

The BJP is also trying to prevent Kejriwal from swaying voters with his populist schemes – something he has done successfully in the past.

The AAP government recently announced a cash dole of ₹2,100 for poor women, to be paid if the party returns to power, and launched a registration process for the scheme.

Delhi lieutenant governor V.K. Saxena, a central government nominee, struck back by ordering an inquiry into charges of fraudulent collection of personal data under the guise of the scheme.

The allegation had been levelled by Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit — son of former three-term chief minister Sheila Dikshit — who will contest against Kejriwal from the New Delhi Assembly segment. The Congress and the AAP are INDIA bloc partners but will fight the Delhi polls separately.

Saxena has also asked the Delhi police to act against those breaching citizens’ privacy by organising unauthorised registration camps.

The move has been seen widely as over-reach by the BJP which, using all the agencies under its control, is trying to deprive an elected government of the right to announce and implement welfare schemes.

Ironically, the BJP-led Mahayuti’s triumph in Maharashtra has been credited largely to the Ladki Bahin cash dole scheme for women that it implemented after the reverses suffered in the Lok Sabha polls.

Kejriwal and his party have termed the allegations “fake” and accused the BJP of plotting to block the proposed cash dole for women as well as the free electricity and water schemes already in force.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP’s poll mascot, is set to address two rallies in Delhi in the first week of January to set the tone for the elections.

Modi had campaigned aggressively but unsuccessfully in the last two Delhi Assembly polls, but BJP managers believe the outcome will be different this time.

The BJP’s biggest handicap, however, is the lack of a chief ministerial candidate to match Kejriwal’s stature. Many in the BJP fear this shortcoming could spoil the party’s otherwise“bright chance”.