Its about time that we all start acknowledging the existence of Aam aadmi party, not only in Delhi but rather nationwide. I was surprised to see a facebook page for aam aadmi party of my hometown. Though they are not structurally sound,they are emerging.
Reach: As BJP swiped the elections for yet another time in Madhya Pradesh. I was much more intrigued by the consecutive losses of congress. In many ways it was not a win for BJP, but a loss for Congress(Read Diggi). People have not yet forgotten the 24 hour power cuts during diggi rule.
This brings me to a powerful hypothesis, BJP ruled Delhi before Sheila Dixit .Under the leadership of #Madanlal Khurana, Delhi was no different then MP with Diggi. Delhi, thus gave chance to Congress thrice before throwing them out. Could BJP also sees the same fate in MP after 5 years. You cannot rule out the possibility.
BJP ruled with a powerful CM. After 10 years of BJP’s Rule, we can boast of being a power surplus state. The road coverage has increased, Total irrigated land has increased too. We do have one of the best social initiatives in the country. But is it all you need from a great leader or rather a great government.
Shocking, as it may seen. But we are the rape capital of India. Forget about Delhi, maximum number of rapes happen in Madhya Pradesh. We have to scrap off the medical entrance test in the state following the malpractices involved for several years. Our cities still have the medieval look and feel. You might say that Rome was not built in a day. But at the same time, with the pace BJP government is ruling, it will take another 100 years for Rome to be built.
What does that show?
It shows that there is a huge space of third player to grow, that third player cannot be BSP or SP. As they are mired with corruption even more than congress. A player which can show true democracy to people. The only player that can take that place is #AamAadmiParty. And I don’t see that day far ahead when congress is out of picture. A replica of what happened in Delhi this time.
Most of the other states are facing the same problem. For instance Rajasthani people let BJP rule once and Congress the next time. Tamilnadu is dwindling between DMK and AIADMK, Maharashtra is not ruling out congress because Shivsena-BJP is worse. West Bengal mandated Mamta only to find out that they are even worse. Could this point out to downfall of the traditional parties?
Funds: Delhi elections can be fought in 20 Crores. However, National elections needs much much more than that. There is a reason why BJP and Congress cannot declare their funds. Furthermore, they always field rich candidates. Who can shell out a lot from their own pockets. In one way, its taking common man out of politics. Which gives rise to even more corruption.
Though, wider reach will definitely give them wider donation list. But its hard to see more people shelling out money in india, where half the population is living in absolute poverty.
A better way would be giving money from electoral funds to all parties in India. This way, one can ensure than no-one is going out of way for poll-expense and will help up to build cleaner politics across the nation. However, this will require a legislature in the parliament and a much larger debate.
I also feel that taking money from NGO’s or corporate is not a bad thing as well. If you can keep all the money clean and show the receipts of all the money that you have taken. This can assure that everything is in public eyes and hence accountable.
Hooliganism: Yes, its hard for #AAP to reach the rural hinterlands of Hindi-Belt. Regional parties have strong base in these states and they will do everything to stop these new guys to reach those places.
However, if youth actually start getting into the politics, I doubt that it will be long before #AAP can make its presence felt in these regions as well.
Leadership Structure: AAP needs strong leader in the party core group. Which they already have. But on the constituency level they will require several more kejriwals and kumar vishwas. Its not impossible, but even one black sheep can break the trust they have created in public. However, it will get more cumbersome and more people will be required to shortlist the candidates. The honesty of those interviewers is again questionable.
AAP’s Stand on National Issues: National issues are very different from what they fought for in Delhi Elections. You cannot rule the whole country with populist agenda of JanLokpal or decreasing electricity bills. A clear opinion would be required on issues like Common Civil Code, Kashmir Issue and economic policies.
Still I would place my bet on AAP for 2019 polls, if not 2014. This is a disruptive kind of politics which seems to throw out the traditional players. Unless they figure out a way to tackle it.
Vitriolic Verbage 