The dying days of 2013 in Delhi have been overcome with the kind of public exultation and spirit of political triumphalism that the city hasn't witnessed in a long time. The outpouring of spontaneous crowds at the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP's) anointing at Ramlila Grounds, the noisy tub-thumping by a slack-jawed media and the waving jharus at street corners in support of a corruption-free, fast-delivery government with the common touch suggest something revolutionary has happened. They carry a whiff of 1977 - when Indira Gandhi was swept out by Morarji Desai's khichdi sarkar - or 1984 and 1989, when Rajiv Gandhi and V P Singh ruled from Delhi with their brave-new-world promises. Delhi's seventh chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal, is far from occupying the prime minister's seat, but the hoopla surrounding him and what he stands for is nearly as great. He is Delhi's New Year gift to the nation.
He looks as if he's been ordered from Central Casting. With his cosy jersey and muffler, he hops onto the Metro for his swearing-in, touchingly tweets that he's had "loose motions", then whips into action with slashed electricity rates and free water (for some, not all). The power distribution companies are groaning under cumulative debt and are at loggerheads with the regulator; the thoroughly incompetent, corrupt Delhi Jal Board should have been wound up long ago - but the AAP has neither a forward plan nor a cohesive economic policy. Who will pay for the new subsidies? Should power and water supply be controlled by state-owned or private companies? Its overarching credo in its moment of triumph seems to be: "Household accounts can wait. It's freebie time, folks! Enjoy!"
The good fortune of Mr Kejriwal and the AAP's advent in Delhi (even if propped up by a sour-grapes Congress party) is also blessed by the timing and season of their arrival. Just in advance of the general elections, the AAP's urban appeal and support base will extend way beyond the city-state (with seven parliamentary seats), from the densely urbanised National Capital Territory to the National Capital Region. The NCR cuts a growing swathe in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan; last July three more districts were added, bringing the NCR's districts to a total of 19, making it the world's second-largest urban agglomeration. The AAP's transformation from political movement to political party could yield an unexpected harvest in the 16th Lok Sabha.
Water and electricity consumption generally drops in the winter and spring months, peaking in May-June when the capital begins to face severe shortages. The AAP's free-loading spree can conveniently be deferred till summer's load-shedding, when a restive population's demands rise alongside soaring temperatures.
In other ways, too, Delhi's pampered populace is fiercely demanding and conscious of its rights. It can concentrate the nation's attention and bring governments to its knees, as in the street protests that followed the gang rape of December 2012. Hard-wired to politics, with the highest per capita income in the country, it boasts a better quality of life than Mumbai, Kolkata or Bangalore: better public transport, cleaner air, greater green cover and parks, well-kept museums and monuments, and endless cultural fiestas hosted at public expense. Delhi's citizens are so spoilt, goes the local joke, they hardly need to buy a ticket.
The trouble with Delhi is that too many important people live here; its complex power structures and labyrinthine bureaucracy are so well entrenched that navigating the jungle will be the AAP's biggest challenge. No one is quite sure who runs parts of the capital - or even who owns it! Mr Kejriwal may choose two medium-sized bungalows as his official residence-cum-office - but can he evict the numerous non-resident politicians and bureaucrats who continue to occupy grace-and-favour second homes? AAP ministers may eschew red beacons and other perks of office, but how will they divest Unions ministers, judges, top defence officers and other categories of VIPs of such privileges? Wresting control of the police force or the all-powerful Delhi Development Authority from the central authority is easier said than done.
The AAP's major contribution to politics so far is to convert rented mobs to enthusiastic flash mobs. Its real test will be to dismantle the mob that runs Delhi.
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