Unraveling the AAP

The AAP has come under a lot of fire recently for their high handed, uncouth and racists statements and, in general, not behaving like a 'normal' political party should. Kejriwal has slept on the pavement in freezing rain and has shouted himself hoarse while condemning the Delhi police for not doing their duty. Various members of the party are making contradictory statements and there is no attempt to forge a common agenda. This blog will not attempt to justify their actions but rather to understand the ethos and motivation that goes behind all this.

I would like to make 3 points:

1. The AAP today resembles the Congress in pre-independence days. The Congress had a single point programme and that was Swarajya. Apart from that, it had a lot of conflicting ideologies. Nehru and Jinnah, Tilak and Gokhale did not see eye to eye on almost everything and the differences between Sardar Patel and Nehru were all too clear in the immediate aftermath of independence. Similarly, the AAP has started out with a single point agenda, Stated narrowly it is the elimination of corruption in the body politic and stated broadly it is an attempt to reform democratic institutions in India. This idea appeals to a very broad sweep of people. It has definite appeal to the educated middle class (the sort of people who will read this blog) and equally it will appeal to the rehri wallah who has to pay a hafta to the beat constable. Corruption in India is a universal subject. From the so called 'transactional' corruption faced by the rehri wallah to the institutionalized corruption of the 2G scam. It is therefore natural that a movement or party whose main plank is anti-corruption will appeal to all types of people. And therein lies the problem! A Meera Sanyal from an MNC bank may feel just as strongly about corruption as Somnath Bharti who is a street smart lawyer. However on most other matters they are unlikely to agree. This is what is creating the dissonance between statements of various members of the AAP. Eventually, as the party matures it will have to resolve these contradictions. As of now the media and the PR machinery of the established parties is having a field day with attacks on the AAP about these issues. I feel that this is an essential maturing phase for the AAP and they will learn how to handle internal contradictions. It is not a major priority as of now.
   
2. The second point is about methods. Strictly constitutional and conventional methods are rarely successful in solving intractable problems. The established political parties have virtually institutionalized corruption and the attendant issue of shiftless public servants who are unwilling to do their duty. As per the AAP, 70% of the complaints that they have received on the anti-corruption helpline are about the Police. All of us have experienced this even it is a small matter of paying off a traffic policeman for a speeding offence. The fact is that the Delhi police IS corrupt and nobody can deny that. The AAPs approach is based on two premises. One, approach the problem from the bottom upwards and try to address the Aam Aadmi's problems first and two, use direct public action rather than strictly conventional means to solve the issues. According to the Press, Somnath Bharti has become a hero of sorts in Khirki Extension. Whether you like it or not drugs and prostitution were serious problems there and they were being practiced by African residents. It is also true that several complaints by the local residents had not achieved anything. The conclusion, therefore, that the police were being paid off is difficult to escape. Bharti's methods, however crude and unpalatable they are to the educated middle class is the only thing that has worked after years of inaction. Kejriwal is not the first Chief Minister of Delhi to demand that the Police should report to him. Shiela Dixit had the same demand for the last 15 years. She also had the advantage of having the Congress in power at the Centre. However, her gentle, constitutional protests fell on deaf ears. It may need the junoon of a 'mad' chief minister to actually make it happen.
   
3. My last point is about who exactly are the Aam Aadmi? They are hardly the sort of people who will read this blog. They are not the educated, genteel folk who inhabit the corridors of power whether it be in public life or in the private sector. The Aam Aadmi are rough, crude, basic people with all the prejudices and problems that such people have. They have patriarchal attitudes towards women and think that Africans are 'habshis' who eat children. This, whether you like it or not, is the Aam Aadmi. Unfortunately, they don't understand gentle discourse. Rather they are attracted to the crude humour of a Kumar Vishwas. The AAP reflects this reality. Kejriwal and some of his team such as Yogendra Yadav and Bhushan are able to provide a bridge of some sort between what the AAP is really like and what the educated middle class wants them to be. The BJP has handled this by putting a lid on the more radical elements of the Sangh Pariwar - some of their utterances would be a serious embarrassment to the urbane Mr. Jaitley and even Mr. LK Advani. Mr. Modi himself is almost too radical for most of them. It would be a real pity if the AAP retreated from the freshness of their approach. They run the risk of losing their connect with the real Aam Aadmi if they tried to mould themselves in the same way as the established political parties. At best they need to curb vigilantism and expressions of rank prejudice. Other than that if they lose the support of opportunists like Chetan Bhagat and their ilk, it's actually better for them.

The AAP is in the news today. The English media has already started turning against them if Arnab Goswami's News Hour is any indication. However, the real Aam Aadmi has a lot riding on the success of the AAP. They represent the first hope of real change that we have seen in years. The educated middle class may be repelled by some of their tactics but we need to see beyond the obvious. As I said in my previous blog the philosophy that the AAP needs to adopt is of Nishkam Karam. They have to do their duty without thinking of the outcome and the reward.