'Modi magic' waning, says CPI-M

The 'Modi Magic' seems to be waning a little too fast, the CPI-M said Thursday, in reaction to the BJP's election rout in Delhi.

"The Delhi electorate has busted the myth of 'Modi invincibility'," said an editorial in "People's Democracy", the official organ of the Communist Party of India-Marxist said.

"They did so resoundingly. With a mere three legislators out of the 70, the BJP now faces a similar situation in the Delhi assembly as that of the Congress in the Lok Sabha. In fact, worse.

"The BJP does not qualify to claim the post of the official leader of the opposition in the Delhi assembly," it said.

The editorial pointed out that the Bharatiya Janata Party campaign pumped in thousands of crores in advertisement campaigns alone, projecting that the people of the capital will repose their faith in the Modi government.

"Modi himself took the lead in his election speeches saying that what the country 'feels' will reverberate in the Delhi elections as well.

"He exhorted the voters to repose faith in him and give him the victory. The election debacle has now forced the BJP leaders to say that the Delhi result is not a referendum on the Modi government at the centre.

"However, the fact remains that it was the RSS/BJP which projected and imposed such a contest on the Delhi electorate."

The editorial said the virtual sweep that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) recorded places on it a greater responsibility to deliver.

"Given the limited status of Delhi statehood, many of its promises face difficulties to be realised...

"The BJP government at the centre will be like an impenetrable wall that cannot be breached given the current legal status of the Delhi assembly.

"Only time will tell how the AAP government will be able to enlist the central government's cooperation on all these matters."