Arvind Kejriwal is no democrat, after all
It is understandable for a political party that has suffered a debilitating electoral defeat to witness internal wrangling and even a split. It is rare for a party which has won a resounding mandate to implode within months of the success. But that is the sad case with the Aam Aadmi Party, which is on the verge of an existential crisis after the unsavoury happenings at its National Council meeting on Saturday. The ouster of senior founder-members Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav from the powerful National Executive was expected, but the crass manner in which supporters of AAP leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal went about the task, is certainly a matter of shame and demonstrates that Mr Kejriwal, for all his self-promoted democratic credentials, cannot brook dissent.
While we have to wait and see what form and shape the development assumes in the coming days, it is clear that the Aam Aadmi Party will no longer be what it had set out to be — a different political entity with strong roots in participative democracy and disdain for the ‘high command' or ‘central command' culture. Events in the run-up to and at the National Council meeting have established without doubt that Mr Kejriwal is the party's supremo and that any opposition to him, in howsoever indirect form, will not be tolerated.
The meeting played out to a script written by Kejriwal acolytes and endorsed by Mr Kejriwal himself. The fact that he left the meeting after delivering his address indicates that he did not want to dirty his hands. This is not the mark of a leader but of an escapist, a term he has had the chance to encounter earlier too. The Delhi Chief Minister remains smug in the belief (not unfounded) that he commands the loyalty of his 67 MlAs in the Delhi Assembly and of many workers across the country. He also knows that his name sells, whereas Mr Bhushan and Mr Yadav, regardless of their stellar role in the creation of the Aam Aadmi Party, are essentially rootless wonders.
The issue here, though, is not one about popularity among the masses but of adhering to principles that the AAP had set out for itself. Both Mr Yadav and Mr Bhushan may have had an ‘agenda' to cut Mr Kejriwal to size, but it is also true that they had raised genuine issues of inner party democracy and probity in the distribution of tickets. As things have turned out, the Kejriwal camp not just shut the door on the duo, it also undermined the dignity and authority of the party's internal ‘lokpal', retired Admiral l Ramdas, who was directed not to attend the National Council event on the specious ground that his presence could trigger a ‘confrontation’. It is possible that Mr Yadav and Mr Bhushan may have garnered significant support had there been secret voting, but such ballot was not allowed. These developments point to serious flaws that have crept into the Aam Aadmi Party's functioning.
The damage to the party's image is not going to be repaired any time soon. Neither Mr Yadav nor Mr Bhushan, or their group within the party, is going to take things lying down. Meanwhile, it remains to be seen who will split the party: The duo or Mr Kejriwal himself. Either way, the party leadership has let down many thousands of its supporters and volunteers across the country.