Is AAP reading voters' message correctly?

The real test for Arvind Kejriwal now is to grow his movement in time for the 2014 general elections

It appears to be a typical case of so near and yet so far for Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal. Ironically, Kejriwal has emerged as kingmaker, not the king, able to support either the Congress or the BJP to form the government. Of all the results, Delhi is the most interesting, being a state where the Congress government was not a complete non-performer. The AAP created a real wave this time by winning 28 of Delhi’s 70 seats and a third of the vote share. It was responsible for reducing the Congress tally to single digits and denying the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) a clean sweep. The AAP’s performance points to a larger dissatisfaction — one that extends beyond the Congress party.

 

"The debutant AAP made an important intervention in Delhi Assembly elections which witnessed the first-ever triangular contest -- Congress and BJP were the traditional rivals since the first Delhi elections in 1993. The party in a way changed the grammar of politics as it sent a strong massage that electoral politics not meant only for the so-called elite section of the society. It brought the conventional fence-sitters into the mainstream or say in simple terms it transferred power to the common man," observes A K Verma, professor at Kanpur Christ Church College.

 

Quite a few commentators and media columnists observed that runaway inflation and the AAP’s pledge of cheap power and free water among a host of other ‘untested dreams’ helped expand its appeal among the common man of the city. What the party did offer instead was promise — misplaced and impracticable, its critics said — and a vow to deliver clean, corruption-free governance. The message caught the imagination of voters cutting across social backgrounds; the AAP cut into the Congress’s votes in the slum clusters as it did for the BJP’s votes among the elite sections.

 

"With this victory, the AAP is no longer an outsider. It has a responsibility to translate its votes into something meaningful and useful for the country. Therefore, it will be doing itself no harm if it allows the BJP to form a government in Delhi by lending support, joining the government and taking up a few portfolios. It will gain administrative and governance experience and can act as a check on the BJP too, writes V. Anantha Nageswaran in Mint.

 

Social activist and former IPS officer Kiran Bedi has said that the onus to provide good governance in Delhi is on both the BJP and AAP even though both parties are nowhere near the majority mark. Bedi appealed to leaders of both BJP and AAP to come together and find a middle way to end the suspense in Delhi, she told CNN-IBN.

 

The AAP has punctured BJP's dreams and forced a hung House. However, the real test for Kejriwal now is to grow his movement in time for general elections due by May 2014.

Whether and how effectively this new outfit can repeat its success at the national level remains to be seen. But there is a clear message in its performance that political parties, whatever their ideology and orientation, should ignore only at their own peril.

 

Kejriwal’s message — ‘give an honest party’ a chance — has struck a chord with an increasingly urban voters restless for a change and dominated by the youth, making it clear that the winner of 2014 elections will have to deal with popular anger. The AAP’s rise also indicates public alienation from conventional political parties which appear increasingly disconnected from people’s aspirations and expectations. 

 

"It won’t be easy for the AAP to replicate the spectacular Delhi performance nationally in such a short time. Also, people have already made up their mind for the big event (Lok Sabha elections),” said Verma.

 

The substance of AAP’s promise awaits demonstration in the crucible of power politics. (Graphics / PTI)