[ET opinion poll predicts that if the poll were held in January end, then the AAP would have had mopped up between 36 and 40 seats (up from 22-25 in end November 2014), the BJP 28-32 (down from 43-47) and the Congress 0-3 (down from 0-4). The poll will be held on Feb. 7.]
I/II. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/delhi-polls-kiran-bedis-campaign-manager-narendra-tandon-quits-citing-her-dictatorial-ways-of-functioning/articleshow/46102155.cms Delhi Polls: Kiran Bedi's campaign manager Narendra Tandon quits citing her dictatorial ways of functioning By ET Bureau | 3 Feb, 2015, 04.00AM IST NEW DELHI: Chaos and drama prevailed at the BJP headquarters on Monday as CM candidate Kiran Bedi's campaign manager Narendra Tandon resigned from the party, citing her dictatorial ways of functioning. Tandon abruptly withdrew it a few hours later. A senior functionary, Tandon who was managing Bedi's campaign, wrote a letter to party chief Amit Shah expressing his dismay over the fact that Bedi "who had lathicharged many BJP workers earlier was the party's leader" and that putting up with her constant instructions and insults by her personal team was impossible. By later afternoon, however, Tandon withdrew his resignation and cited his "emotional" state of mind as the reason behind his earlier decision. Speaking to ET, he said, "It was a mistake to resign. Dharmendra Pradhan took me to BJP main office. I met Amit Shah and Arun Jaitley and they convinced me. I am fortunate to work in a party with leaders like this." BJP leaders privately said: "Tandon was in charge of organising routes during her roadshows and rallies. She would want changes to them all the time. She wanted to avoid peak timings, congested roads and would want to reach jansabhas on time while Tandon, like any political assistant, would plan her route through populated streets so that she met more people," said a party functionary close to Tandon. Delhi BJP chief Satish Upadhyay added to the confusion by saying the resignation had been accepted. Upadhyay later said he was not aware of the withdrawal. Tandon, ex-secretary of BJP city unit, was part of the campaign panel headed by Anil Jain and was given additional responsibility of managing Bedi's campaign. In the morning, BJP made it a point though to criticise Tandon's record. His quitting would not affect its poll preparations as he was a low-level functionary, Delhi BJP spokesperson PS Kapoor said in the morning. The confusion is said to have delayed the release of BJP's vision document. Minister Nitin Gadkari said: "I am here to tell you what all I can do to improve Delhi's infrastructure. You will get to know about the rest of plans shortly." "Now we are getting a vision document ready that will present how Delhi will look in 25 years. There is much difference of opinion even on creating this paper," a national leader said. Vision 2050 to make Delhi a world class city will be released on Tuesday, leaders said. II. http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31816&articlexml=Delhi-Decides-Bedi-A-Bane-No-Boon-for-03022015002007 Feb 03 2015 : The Economic Times (Delhi) Delhi Decides - Bedi A Bane, No Boon, for BJP New Delhi: Our Political Bureau ET OPINION POLL CONDUCTED BY TNS Kejriwal's popularity shoots up after Bedi's induction into BJP; Kejriwal continues to remain the most-preferred choice for chief minister Kejriwal's popularity direct result of BJP decision to distance Modi from polls BJP's decision to induct Kiran Bedi as the party's CM candidate has failed to impress voters. ET's opinion poll conducted by TNS on voter mood before the Delhi assembly polls shows her anointment has done little to lift the saffron party's prospects in Delhi. Not only does AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal continue to remain the most-preferred choice for chief minister across political parties, his popularity has shot up after Bedi's induction into BJP , according to the survey done in the last week of January . Bedi's popularity stands at 38%, 16 percentage points behind Kejriwal's. Congress leader Ajay Maken stands third, but lags way behind with just 6% voters favouring him. Kejriwal's soaring popularity is a direct result of BJP's decision to distance PM Narendra Modi from the Delhi polls, ac cording to politi cal commentator Dipankar Gupta. "Bedi's entry into the poll scene killed all direct comparisons be tween Modi and Kejriwal. That, I feel, has turned things around for Kejriwal," Gupta told ET. AAP , on its part, had also avoided any direct attacks on Modi even though the PM referred to him as a `Naxali' in his first rally in Delhi in January ."We chose to keep our campaign largely positive and Arvind did not target Modi. If you notice, he refrains from targeting Kiran Bedi as well," said an AAP leader who did not wish to identified. Political commentator Neerja Chandoke is convinced that the villages, poorer sections and minorities are the main driving force behind Kejriwal's popularity. "If you remember there was a news report recently which said that 60% of Delhi voters live on less than `14,000 a month. This class and its approval of Kejriwal makes him a formidable contend er for the CM's post," she said. "I also think that AAP's criticism of Bedi as an opportunist has also hit her where it hurts the most." Gupta agrees with Chandoke on this to a certain extent. "Last time, the middle class was enthused and came out in large numbers to vote. This time they may not have the drive to do the same. This should worry BJP ," he added. At the time when BJP was trying to set its house in order, AAP has been working systematically to mobilise its cadres. AAP workers spread across Delhi with Kejriwal himself deciding to visit each of the 70 constituencies at least twice. The workers had explicit orders that they had to visit each and every house at least four times before elections. Political commentator Neerja Chaudhary said Kejriwal had shown himself to be a savvy politician, who is making use of all opportunities to his advantage and putting BJP on the defensive. Snipped -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
