Why I decided to support AAP?

Last month results of the assembly elections in five states in India were declared, and most results were as expected except for the result of India's national capital New Delhi, A rookie party AAP came second. Surprisingly, it won 28 seats, only 8 short of getting an absolute majority in a 70-member assembly. Their phenomenal success surprised many, including me. I expected some impact from AAP, but unexpectedly they created a huge impact, so huge that now there is a government by AAP managing the administration of Delhi. During that election I did one thing that I never do during any election, I openly supported AAP. I endorsed this party openly and even campaigned for them via phone calls to Delhi voters. This was the first time I campaigned for any political party directly. I voted many times during various elections (state, national, municipal) in India, I voted for different parties in different elections. I am not a supporter or member of any single political party, my choice was based on the situation and need of that time. During local elections, I voted for the Shivsena candidate even though I didn't agree with many of their policies or their ideology. I voted for them just because their local candidate was really helpful and supportive of our entire neighborhood. Likewise, I chose different parties in different elections (state or national). I was impressed by the honesty and youthfulness of Rajiv when he entered politics, VP Singh's anti-corruption drive attracted me, Manmohan Singh's economic policies after 1991 created a lot of change and hope, and Vajpayee's honesty and sincerity impressed me, but I also didn't like or disagreed with many things related to the governments headed by each of these leaders. I had really high hopes for Manmohan Singh as PM of India, not every time I was right or my expectations were fulfilled but I was never (and still I am not) a fan of any one political leader or party. I support a good candidate or policy, it doesn't matter from which party they come. There are some basic principles on which I will never compromise but apart from them, governance is the key issue that I consider while voting. So, why did I decide to support AAP this time? What made me to change my stand of not supporting any party openly, why I didn't keep my political inclination a private affair this time?

During every election campaign, all parties promise so many things that they never even try to fulfill. They try to field winnable candidates, and they even field candidates with very questionable backgrounds just because they have the power and capacity to fight and win elections. Every major political (state or national) party does these things there are very no exceptions to this. From the beginning, AAP was different than all of them. First, they declared their all funding sources and amounts, and everything was available online for anyone to check. To date, no other political party in India has done this. It seems they have too much to hide, AAP was the first to do it. AAP was also the first party to disqualify their candidate from their party when they found some corruption charges against that candidate. They did this even after the deadline of withdrawing nominations expired. This was again a unique step. With actions like these, they showed their uniqueness and transparency from the beginning. All these things were enough for me to believe in their sincerity. I don't agree with some of their populist policies, and I am even not sure if they will live up to all expectations, but at least they are trying sincerely and that's the main reason I support them. I am also not expecting any overnight change, it will be a very long and difficult battle with many ups and downs. In the past many parties that came out of some movement and claimed to work to deliver social justice surrendered to the current political system and became an integral part of it once they got power. They didn't even try to change the system but became part of the system. Now they all are busy navigating their way to the top using the same old techniques and methods. AAP didn't do this, at least not yet, and this is what made me support them.

This was the first time I felt that any political party in India was not playing politics of caste and religion during the election., This was the first time that some party talked about overall system reforms not just an empty promise of good governance. As Amir Khan said in one of his interviews this was for the first time when some party promised not to offer a good rule but to act as people's representative and execute what people want. This was the first time that any party did a referendum to ask people whether they should form a government with the outside support of the party against which they fought the election. This party seems to care what people like me think, they seem to listen to our demands. They didn't go and settle in VIP culture after getting elected. They look very accessible and approachable. For the first time people seem to have the power to challenge the government, ask questions, demand action and pull it down if they don't like their work. For the first time, any CM has to change his official residence because many people disapprove of his choice. Many see this incident as a weakness and lack of leadership for me it was walking the talk (their promise that people are in charge). For the first time, ministers declined the security cover (however personally I feel this is unnecessary). For the first time, ministers won't travel in cars with red beacons. Some politicians practiced many of these things individually but for the first time, any political party included these things in their rule book and followed it. For me these things are enough to show that currently this party is different than many others out there and as long as they remain different, and don't deviate from their path I will support them. The day they deviate from their path, engage in the same old tactics, or become corrupt I will be the first to criticize and oppose them because my support is not blind and unconditional. I am not a devotee but just a supporter who is with them to build a great and prosperous nation.

I am waiting for the day when all other parties will become totally transparent in their activities and funding, field clean candidates, try to fulfill their election promises, and if the presence of AAP forces them to do this then I think this will be the greatest contribution by AAP to Indian politics. If this happens then uniqueness of AAP will diminish and every other party will become like AAP, and there will be competition to provide honest and noncorrupt governance to people and that will be a true democracy. I am waiting for that day. I hope AAP stays on its path till then if it deviates or changes its direction drastically it will lose the support of me and many people like me, this might happen as nothing is guaranteed but as always I am optimistic.

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]

Links:
1. http://www.aamaadmiparty.org/

2. A cowardly act- The Hindu
3. Assembly Elections 2013-TOI
4. दिल्ली: बदले-बदले से 'सरकार' नज़र आते हैं

Anna or Kejriwal, who is right?

Recently Anna Hazare announced that he is not going to be a part of the new political party or movement that Arvind Kejriwal is planning to start soon. It was surprising, if not shocking to know this. Forming a political party and taking this anti-corruption movement to the next level was the next logical step in the direction of bringing reforms to our corrupt political and bureaucratic system. The question that comes to my mind is why Anna chose to stay away from a political option? Is it because he feels that involvement in politics will corrupt his movement? Does he think that politics is a dirty game and wants to play safe? What is it, that made him take this decision, and what effect this decision can have on the current political and social scenario? Who is right, Anna or Arvind?

Anti-corruption movement started with a bang when Anna Hazare sat on his fist fast for the Lokpal issue and it charged the whole nation. The problem was there, everyone knew it, and people responded spontaneously which even took the government by surprise. For people of my generation, this movement is a chance to be a part of Indian history, our generation never witnessed any part of the freedom struggle, we were just kids or infants during the emergency, but we can be a very important part of this important movement and that's why it means a lot for our generation.

At the beginning of the movement people's response to it created a lot of hope and many things happened after that. A committee was set up for the Janlokpal bill draft formation and discussion, this didn't work out very well as there were huge differences between the government's version of the Lokpal bill and Team Anna's version. The government prepared its own Lokpal bill and introduced it in parliament, there was a heated debate on the contents of that bill and the effectiveness of this newly proposed system. In general, this issue was there in the media for 3-4 months, and then slowly attention shifted to some recent scams and fuel price hike-related issues. When Anna sat for his second fast for the same issue, it created much less turmoil and public participation was also less compared to the last time. The government also realized that these things were not going to make any dent in its vote bank or affect its stability so they conveniently ignored the movement. This forced the movement and its leaders to think about alternative ways to fight the anti-corruption battle. I think at this point they realized that just fasting or protests are not going to bring change. It might trouble the ruling party or government for some time and force them to discuss these issues but policies or laws can not be formed or changed by using these ways. Maybe this led them to think of the idea of forming a political party that can give voters an alternative to select honest and sincere candidates who are willing to work for people's welfare rather than working to fulfill some personal ambitions. This sounds more logical but very difficult path to follow. Creating a political party and managing it is not a simple thing in the Indian political system, but without doing this it's foolish to expect that current political parties and politicians will suddenly change their ways and become sincere and honest just because of some protests and fasts. Corruption is not a recent problem in Indian politics or bureaucracy, it's so old that it has become a norm now. I don't think ruling parties will care even if few people die while fasting, it might create some temporary uproar among the public but current establishments know very well how to handle these types of things. These things (protests and fasts) work very well for local issues where urgent attention is required but for national issues like corruption different type of movement is required which can run for a longer time to be effective, 10 day protests or fasts are not going to force the change.

As I mentioned giving people a better political alternative sounds very logical but very difficult option to execute for the anti-corruption movement to move forward. I think initially everyone thought this as a very viable alternative and I remember that Anna Hazare himself announced this option at the end of his second fast in Delhi, but something went wrong in the coming days. Arvind Kejriwal and his followers moved forward to form a political group and I think others decided to wait and watch. This resulted in a clear divide in team Anna. One group became totally inactive and waited for Anna's announcement and another group started their work toward the formation of a political outfit. Finally, Anna announced that he wouldn't be a part of any political party, which is totally fine, it's his choice and it should be respected but he also forbade India against corruption or Arvind's group to use his name and image for their movement which is totally surprising. This created a lot of confusion. If it remains like this I am sure this will nullify any effect this movement might have on the next general elections, I don't know which candidates or party Anna and his group are planning to support? Even JP (Jay Prakash Narayan) stood with the Janata Party to bring the change in 1977, he didn't fight the election or accept any post but he clearly associated his name and image with a particular party to bring that change.

Without giving viable political alternatives what Anna expects voters to do? Right now it is very confusing and not a very good scenario for the anti-corruption movement. Either they should associate themselves with some political party that can endorse their ideas and views or form their own party and fight the elections. If they are not willing to do any of these things and just want to play a safe game then there is no point in doing all this because, for any policy change, they have to depend on other political parties which will act only as per their own requirements and benefits. It is difficult to say who is right here, Anna or Kejriwal, but it is also true that both of them should come together to make this battle successful. I hope that this issue between these two groups will be resolved soon and they come up with some common plan that can reignite this movement and initiate the change in the system which is badly required. I know that this is not going to be an easy battle, it will be very long and one can not expect positive results in one or two elections but it should start at least then only we can expect some positive outcome.

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic. 

(Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing)