Imagining the AAP

Now that the battle for Delhi is over and Arvind Kejriwal is on his way to becoming the next Chief Minister of Delhi, it is time to take a step back to see what may lie ahead. As I see it, the following things are going to be critical in the next weeks and months to follow:

1. The BJP is not going to lie back and play dead in Delhi. BJP Street fighters will continue to make wild accusations and spread disinformation at all points. Their propaganda machinery starting with TV spokespersons will raise the shrillness of the debate and they will be supported by the Central Government machinery. In short, life will not be easy for the fledgling state government. In this charged scenario, the new government will be hard pressed to deliver on its poll promises. The AAP has done well to keep its cool during the hard fought election. In fact it was the BJP whose nerves appeared to be on edge. This is a wise policy that the AAP would be well advised to maintain going forward. Dignified behaviour is always appreciated. Secondly, factual analysis and communication is important rather than rumours and innuendo. For example, while the AAP does have a credible method by which they propose to bring down electricity bills, they need to share this is a simple way with the public at large. They cannot be seen as populist vote gatherers now that they have come to power. This is another way to resist the BJP juggernaut. The third way is to look at issue based support. Nobody can really argue with the Swach Bharat campaign for example. The AAP is equally concerned about sanitation. Rather than oppose for the sake of opposing it would be better to adopt some of these programs and make them successful in Delhi. Clearly, the AAP needs to adopt a balanced, mature and nuanced approach in the coming weeks and months.
   
2. It is critical that the AAP does not succumb to overconfidence again. Expansion beyond Delhi needs to be carefully calibrated. Now that the Lok Sabha elections are over there is thankfully no temptation to aspire for a National Role too early. This was one of the key mistakes made by the AAP last year. As far as the State Assemblies are concerned the party needs to pick its battles with care. Other states are not like Delhi. Physical area, population, local issues, media coverage are all very different from a city state like Delhi. Local parties are also well entrenched in some states unlike Delhi where it was essentially a triangular contest. It is more important for the AAP to successfully manage Delhi and demonstrate its capabilities rather than spread its resources too thinly. I would even go so far as to suggest that the AAP should declare a one year moratorium on future elections and focus on Delhi. Such a strategy will pay them rich dividends in future as they will have a demonstrable track record of success.
   
3. There are already overtures by various parties who have extended support to the AAP. This seems to be on the principal that an enemies enemy is a friend. The AAP would be well advised to steer clear of corrupt regional parties who are often caste based and not in conformity with the AAP's aims and objectives. Such alliances may appear attractive in the short term but as I have said in this pages before, Tagore's inspirational poem 'Ekla Chalo Re' could be a theme song for the party going forward. It may be a difficult path, but it will lead to victory in the future.

Having sounded a cautionary note, it is also appropriate to look at future possibilities. In my view there is one overriding objective that the AAP can aspire for. The decline in the Congress has left a major gap in India's politics. In most developed countries there are two main political parties. Republicans and Democrats in the USA, Labour and Conservative in the UK. There is a need for a left of centre party focused on the real Aam Aadmi. In its heyday the Congress had fulfilled this role. Early leaders like Mahatma Gandhi had learnt the art of listening to the masses well before Social Media made it an instantaneous affair. The symbolism of the Swadeshi movement and Quit India had a strong resonance with the people of India. So did the Garibi Hatao slogan of Indira Gandhi. It is this role at the National Level that the AAP can and should aspire too. The BJP is essentially a party that represents the interests of big business. They are also bound to listen to the diktats of their ideological masters, the RSS and the Hindutva Brigade. All this adds a colour to their policies that is distinctly unsettling for a pluralistic society like India. For India's sake we hope that a decent, honest and effective national party like the AAP emerges that has the interests of the common man at the heart of its policies.