In a country of one billion plus, each party has to find its space. The Congress and the BJP have to re-invent themselves
The aam aadmi has suddenly become the toast of the country. It was the celebrated cartoonist, RK laxman, who popularised the concept of the aam aadmi. Through his funny cartoons he connected the common man to the happenings of the country and these were highly appreciated by the people.
Then the Congress came up with the slogan “Congress ke haath aam aadmi ke saath”, combining its election symbol with the common man before the 2004 poll. This eclipsed the ‘India Shining’ campaign of the NDA led by Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee. last year, Mr Arvind Kejriwal snatched it from the Congress and formed his Aam Aadmi Party, and eventually, in just a year’s time, became Delhi’s youngest Chief Minister, overthrowing the Sheila Dikshit-led Congress Government. He had targeted individual voters and the social media instead of going for mammoth rallies. It is uncertain what fate awaits the AAP when it goes national, but it has certainly unnerved India’s established political parties.
The stance of the AAP against ‘VIP culture’ and the trappings of power have found resonance among the people. People are looking for an alternative corruption-free system of governance. However, if shunning ostentatious living is going to get votes then West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is firm in the saddle. Her predecessor Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee would not have lost or Ms Mayawati (with her flashy diamonds) would not have ruled Uttar Pradesh four times. In short, aping the AAP may not work for the BJP, Congress and other parties. When the BJP came to power in 1998 and started behaving like the B-team of the Congress, it did not succeed.
The Congress had a knee-jerk reaction to the success of AAP. Its vice president Rahul Gandhi went public in declaring that the 128-year-old party should learn lessons from the year-old AAP. Mr Gandhi has directed all Congress Chief Ministers to implement lokayukta legislations in their respective States. Another example of the AAP effect is the Uttarakhand Government launching a helpline for complaints against illegal mining. While these measures are indeed welcome, the established parties should have done all these long time ago; but it is better late than never.
As for the BJP, Mr Modi had come down from his high pedestal calling himself an aam aadmi. Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has cut down on her security and is living in her own house instead of the official residence. The BJP is now trying to change its electoral strategy and has decided to go back to the traditional way of campaigning.
However, the AAP has a long way to go in learning the art of governance and how to manage the various forces from pulling the party in different directions.
The only option for the Congress and the BJP is to reinvent themselves to be in sync with the changing times. If the Congress thinks that projecting Mr Gandhi as the prime ministerial candidate alone will change the situation it is living in a fool’s paradise. The agenda should be more innovative. There should be transparent fund collection and membership drive. Just talking about the MGNREGA and food security will not attract the voters. What the party lacks is communication skills and accessibility to its leaders. Putting spin-doctors before the cameras also will not work. The BJP too should stop building a personality cult around Mr Modi and put controversial issues like Article 370, Uniform civil code and Ram mandir on the back burner. Chief Ministers like Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Raman Singh and Mr Modi have shown the way.
While the national parties are getting ready to copy the AAP style of electioneering, the regional parties like the BSP, SP, AIADMK and BJD are busy maximising their seats to bid for power in case of a hung Parliament.
In a country of one billion plus people, each party has to find its space. The Congress and the BJP has to think of reinventing themselves just as the labour Party did in the UK. Mr Kejriwal has been successful in finding his place and expanding it. The others should find their slots too. Otherwise, we will be moving towards chaos and anarchy and fracturing of the polity.