Instrument of change?
EUGENE CORREIA
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has given up on governance but not on the temptation to govern. It sent ripples in the political structure of the country when it came in from the cold. New Delhi was its first stop in its pan-India ambition. For 49 days, Delhi in particular, and India in general, watched the unfolding of a new kind of political brinkmanship. The new kid-on-the-block was a restless child waiting to grow out of its pampers and take on the political establishment.
When the AAP made its mark on the national scene, well-entrenched parties dismissed it as a rag-tag team of activists. But the AAP felt it could bring about the necessary change both at the centre and at the state level. Its messiah Arvind Kejriwal and his gang set about their tasks in right earnest. It was an uneasy mantle sitting on their heads, with no majority and support from the Congress which was one of its chief enemies, the other being the BJP.
In the non-shockproof world of Indian politics, AAP romped home with 28 seats, enough to raise political eyebrows and make other parties sit up and take notice. Much like a reluctant bride, Kejriwal wore the garb of the chief minister, however uncomfortable he seemed in his robes. The seat he occupied was kept warm by Sheila Diskhit for years, whose rule was seen by observers as somewhat good and somewhat bad. Kejriwal had a long way to go either to go better than Sheila Dikshit or put the old rulers in the dock over many wrongs he may have thought they had committed.
It may seem that Kejriwal and company started on the wrong foot by launching the midnight raid. Power drives some over the brink and those who formed the charmed circle within the AAP took the law into their hands. There could be either merit or demerit in what the AAP chose to do, for Kejriwal has rubbished some of the claims that his law minister was guilty of certain things said in the media and by the rival parties. The Somnath Bharti incident was a bitter lesson for the AAP. The party found itself at the crossroads of moral justice. Perhaps the incident brought home the truth that rough justice belongs to the jungle. The incident, however, did drive the point home that the party meant business. The manner in which they acted may seem illogical, but the police have sensed they are dealing with things on a different level altogether. But it set in motion a debate that the police need to be on guard and be the rightful guardians of law and order. The politician-police-mafia nexus had to be broken. The AAP meant well though its methods were questionable. Extra-constitutional ways are not admissible in a law-fearing society. But is India a law-fearing and law-abiding nation?
The AAP’s fault lay in promising too much too fast. It became clear that between precept and practice, the leaders of the party, including Kejriwal, were all at sea. In the haste to win laurels and to prove beyond doubt that quick actions would earn plaudits, the party stumbled badly.
The Lokpal Bill was the red herring. The bill was AAP’s solemn pledge and nothing short of getting it on the statute books would be a failure. The constitutionality part is what tripped the AAP, though its leaders felt that they were no Constitution barriers. A careful study of the whole situation would have saved the government. There was always time for tomorrow, but the overzealous party could not wait and its fate was sealed. Prudence should have taken precedence. They forgot the time-honoured saying that haste makes waste.
The AAP could not reconcile itself with its failure to pass the bill. Kejriwal forgot that failures are stepping stones to success. He could have prevailed upon his colleagues to pull back and lick their wounds. Instead, the party made merry by blaming the Congress and the BJP. In the midst of the uproar, sensible voices were drowned. But the bigger gameplan was to go into the parliamentary elections with the sympathetic label of victim. The AAP hasn’t sat back sulking on this setback but rather moved forward in securing a bigger canvas.
In announcing its first list of candidates for the new battlefield, the AAP has sent alarm bells in the ranks of other parties. How it will fare at the forthcoming hustings is a matter of time. If AAP does well, then its stay in the political firmament is assured. As things look now, it has won a measure of support all over the land. If this support translates into votes, the party then can march ahead with renewed vigour. Whatever the immediate future holds, the party surely will be a major player in the elections.
Narendra Modi is riding high on the crest of what seemingly appears a wave. The Congress is trying hard to hang on to the driftwood from the wreckage of its ship. The AAP is rowing hard on what may be a sympathetic wave. With such dynamic waves beating on the political shores of the nation, the parliamentary elections are likely to be a tsunami.
