The success of Aam Aadmi Party reflects popular disenchantment with the political mainstream. While it is too late for the Congress to recover lost ground, the BJP still has a shot if Narendra Modi sustains momentum
As the campaign ended in the Delhi Assembly Election, leaders of both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party tended to be rather dismissive of the challenge posed by Mr Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party. On December 4, the day of polling, media quoted former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit as asking, “Who is Arvind KejriwalIJ” On December 8, the day the votes were counted, Delhi had given her an answer. The BJP too tended to under-estimated the AAP. A national leader of this party is said to have described the fledgling political outfit as a “chillar party”, meaning that its worth was equivalent to small change or that it was nothing more than a child’s outfit. He too has had to re-evaluate the AAP after December 8.
However, now that AAP has spread itself on the electoral map of Delhi, both the national parties need to understand the reasons for the rise of this party, which is neither based on caste or religion or region, as most new political entities are in the country, nor is it an outfit with deep pockets. In fact, after many decades, the AAP is the first party which has ensured transparency in regard to party funds and opening solicited financial support for the aam aadmi. The party has risen precisely because the two national parties were seen to be contemptuous of the need for a moral and ethical framework for politics.
The UPA’s image and that of the Congress took a beating beginning with the scandalous stories of corruption in the conduct of the Commonwealth Games. Thereafter, many more skeletons tumbled out of its cupboards including the 2G scam and ‘Coalgate’. This lead to a national anti-corruption movement headed by Anna Hazare for a strong lokpal to check corruption. The Congress and many Union Ministers were initially derisive of Anna’s efforts and this only propelled public anger. Eventually, the Government came up with a draft that fell short of Anna’s expectations.
When the movement was at its height, Union Ministers like Mr Kapil Sibal mocked at Anna and Mr Kejriwal, then his lieutenant, and said laws are made by Parliament, not by gatherings in Ramlila grounds. He also said those who lacked the ability to enter electoral politics and win seats in democratic bodies should not lecture the Government. Mr Kejriwal decided to float the AAP, much against Anna’s will, to put an end to these jibes, and going by the Delhi result, it can be said that he has succeeded in silencing every Congress leader who laughed at the Anna movement two years ago.
Apart from corruption, non-governance became yet another malady afflicting the UPA Government at the Centre. The prime example of this was the growing insecurity among women in the national capital and the brutal rape and killing of ‘Nirbhaya’ in Delhi in December 2012. The paralysis at the Government level was most visible as the Union Government and the Delhi Government squabbled over who was responsible for women’s safety.
As the recent election results show, the Congress has got its just deserts. But if we are to apportion blame for the rise of the AAP, the BJP must get its share. Although the Congress’s arrogance and corruption created the ground for the AAP, much more was expected of the BJP, which was the main opposition party.
However, the BJP failed to corner the Government and take the initiative for a strong anti-corruption law. It allowed the advantage to slip away and fall into the hands of Anna Hazare and the AAP. Similarly, the BJP failed to take the moral high ground on issues like criminalisation of politics and self-aggrandisement of MPs and MlAs with endless perks including the demand for red beacons atop their cars. In short, the party failed to trim its sails to the public mood.
The AAP stepped in to fill the moral vacuum and throughout the campaign, it accused the BJP of being the B Team of the Congress. Somewhere this accusation struck a chord with the electorate, depriving the BJP of the much-needed majority in the Delhi Assembly. That is why Mr Kejriwal’s initial promises include a strong anti-corruption law and an assurance that no MlA of the AAP will use the red beacon on his or her car. The people are disgusted with the behaviour of MPs and MlAs, who have become arrogant and insensitive to peoples’ feelings. That is why the red beacon has become a hate symbol among the electorate.
There are several other factors which have hurt the image of the BJP. For example, many MPs of this party have been caught in scandals like cash-for-questions and corruption in the Members of Parliament local Area Development Scheme. The cumulative effect of all this and the unwillingness of the party leadership to break away from unethical political practices weakened its fight against the Congress. It is sad that the BJP, which once claimed that it was a party with a difference, has become as insensitive to these issues as the Congress. If the BJP does not make a quick course correction, there is every danger of it ceding moral space to the AAP in some other cities as well.
The voters have rebuffed the Congress and it will take that party a long time to recover lost ground. Meanwhile, the BJP will have to guard against complacency and take immediate steps to counter the influence of the AAP if it wishes to replace the Congress at the national level. Till September 13 this year, when Mr Narendra Modi was anointed the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, the party’s cadres were dispirited and had gone into hibernation. The recent results show that Mr Modi’s elevation has electrified the cadres and got them to work for the party with renewed vigour.
Mr Modi will now have to take the next big step to once again make the BJP the party with a difference and enable it to recapture public trust. This can be done by taking a firm stand against corruption and self-aggrandisement of peoples’ representatives. Mr Modi has the moral aura to assert himself on these issues and he must do so quickly. If he does not, the AAP will continue to be an attraction for citizens in Delhi and beyond and this will certainly hurt the BJP’s final tally in the lok Sabha poll of 2014, just as it hurt the party’s dream of recapturing Delhi in 2013. Will Mr Modi actIJ