- Mohit Jindal
It has been nearly 20 months since he first captured the attention of the Indian populace with his advocacy of the Lokpal Bill with the iconic Anna Hazare. His transition from a renowned planner to a more strategic tactician was evident from the way he formed a minority government in Delhi.
Borrowing the ‘aam aadmi’ label of the Indian National Congress, Mr. Kejriwal has been looking for all possible ways to familiarise himself with the Hindi heartland as his party gears up for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The Magsaysay awardee, regarded as the chief architect of the Right to Information Act, has the boldness of aspiration to offer a substantial alternative to both the principal national parties through development politics.
While his efforts to transform the political scenario have been admired, people have begun to question the solutions and methods he offers reach his political objectives, and the recent political turmoil in the Delhi State Assembly bears testimony to this. For the first time in decades, we had a movement driven by an urban phenomenon that did not resort to violence. There was no shutdown in businesses, and the protests symbolized the Gandhian area prior to the Independence. The solution to the issue was also not complex, nor was it politically appealing to any religion, cast, language, region, etc.
The idea of a Lokpal is deeply flawed but the movement it has generated is legit enough for us to believe that it is quite possible to construct a new political movement without resorting to practices that have continued to divide us over the past so many decades. The birth of Aam Admi Party gives us that hope and it is the hope that the AAP is trying to capitalize on.
After having an unimaginable run at the Assembly Elections (and as the Delhi Government), AAP has now entered the political minefield. Its 49 day tenure as the Delhi government has been controversy ridden, and there has been decline in people’s faith the party enjoyed during the pre-election period. The manner in which Kejriwal presented himself and his party when it came to law and order situations might seem innovative but at the same time it is impractical and problematic for the community in general. His dharna has become a featured form of protest against anything he finds ‘corrupt’, which is not expected from an effective policymaker. Lack of political experience plays a definite role here. However, it must be understood that such moves would generate cynicism amongst the public, a disadvantage they cannot chose to ignore. Aam Aadmi Party may have the right motives, but its way of pursuing those is unjustified and in all probability will not garner any public favoritism.
In order to brace for the challenges being created by Congress and BJP, Mr. Kejriwal has to build its appeal beyond megacities and at the same time, prove that his party can attract new participation by drawing more urban citizens to vote. It is apparent that AAP’s political success lies on how well it is able to differentiate form the other political parties, something which BJP has been trying to do.
For a movement that transcended many deep fault lines, AAP is on the verge of creating new fault lines with its mantra of ‘my way or the highway’, something that disturbs the business class of India (such as their recent decision to scrap FDI in Delhi without giving proper justification).
If the movement of India against Corruption yielded no new urban political formations, AAP’s political expose of scandals to give rise to new political fault lines was merely a necessary ‘evil’ to bring his party to the public with media glare. However it must be understood, that the real test is how Mr. Kejriwal and his party make the transition from the tactics that perhaps were needed to get where he is, to the strategies that will get him where he aims to go.
Evidently, it is right to call this period the ‘silent revolution’, and it will be Mr. Kejriwal’s future strategies which will give us the chance to assess whether his party will rewrite the way political parties govern or whether it would be a mere footnote in the history of Indian politics which has already witnessed tons of such political experiments.
It has been nearly 20 months since he first captured the attention of the Indian populace with his advocacy of the Lokpal Bill with the iconic Anna Hazare. His transition from a renowned planner to a more strategic tactician was evident from the way he formed a minority government in Delhi.
Borrowing the ‘aam aadmi’ label of the Indian National Congress, Mr. Kejriwal has been looking for all possible ways to familiarise himself with the Hindi heartland as his party gears up for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The Magsaysay awardee, regarded as the chief architect of the Right to Information Act, has the boldness of aspiration to offer a substantial alternative to both the principal national parties through development politics.
While his efforts to transform the political scenario have been admired, people have begun to question the solutions and methods he offers reach his political objectives, and the recent political turmoil in the Delhi State Assembly bears testimony to this. For the first time in decades, we had a movement driven by an urban phenomenon that did not resort to violence. There was no shutdown in businesses, and the protests symbolized the Gandhian area prior to the Independence. The solution to the issue was also not complex, nor was it politically appealing to any religion, cast, language, region, etc.
The idea of a Lokpal is deeply flawed but the movement it has generated is legit enough for us to believe that it is quite possible to construct a new political movement without resorting to practices that have continued to divide us over the past so many decades. The birth of Aam Admi Party gives us that hope and it is the hope that the AAP is trying to capitalize on.
After having an unimaginable run at the Assembly Elections (and as the Delhi Government), AAP has now entered the political minefield. Its 49 day tenure as the Delhi government has been controversy ridden, and there has been decline in people’s faith the party enjoyed during the pre-election period. The manner in which Kejriwal presented himself and his party when it came to law and order situations might seem innovative but at the same time it is impractical and problematic for the community in general. His dharna has become a featured form of protest against anything he finds ‘corrupt’, which is not expected from an effective policymaker. Lack of political experience plays a definite role here. However, it must be understood that such moves would generate cynicism amongst the public, a disadvantage they cannot chose to ignore. Aam Aadmi Party may have the right motives, but its way of pursuing those is unjustified and in all probability will not garner any public favoritism.
In order to brace for the challenges being created by Congress and BJP, Mr. Kejriwal has to build its appeal beyond megacities and at the same time, prove that his party can attract new participation by drawing more urban citizens to vote. It is apparent that AAP’s political success lies on how well it is able to differentiate form the other political parties, something which BJP has been trying to do.
For a movement that transcended many deep fault lines, AAP is on the verge of creating new fault lines with its mantra of ‘my way or the highway’, something that disturbs the business class of India (such as their recent decision to scrap FDI in Delhi without giving proper justification).
If the movement of India against Corruption yielded no new urban political formations, AAP’s political expose of scandals to give rise to new political fault lines was merely a necessary ‘evil’ to bring his party to the public with media glare. However it must be understood, that the real test is how Mr. Kejriwal and his party make the transition from the tactics that perhaps were needed to get where he is, to the strategies that will get him where he aims to go.
Evidently, it is right to call this period the ‘silent revolution’, and it will be Mr. Kejriwal’s future strategies which will give us the chance to assess whether his party will rewrite the way political parties govern or whether it would be a mere footnote in the history of Indian politics which has already witnessed tons of such political experiments.
Given its recent ‘success’ in Delhi, AAP
has a long way to go. Its birth marks the new culture of politics in a country
where after seven decades of democracy, the concept of development politics has
for the first time become a voting issue.
