The resignation of Arvind Kejriwal, the national convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), from the post of Delhi chief minister is definitely a smart political move to take on the Opposition, particularly the BJP. In another politically correct move, he appointed its woman face, Atishi Singh, who earlier held various ministries. Her appointment is aimed to send a positive signal towards the women voters.
It has to be said that these decisions are taken to meet the short-term goal — to return to power in Delhi, the party’s stronghold, for the third time. It has to be mentioned that the Delhi assembly polls are likely to be held by February next year. However, these moves can’t hide the weakness of the AAP — that it faces a credibility crisis.
AAP: Reclaiming its ‘corruption-free image’
Although Kejriwal got bail from the liquor scam, the Supreme Court barred him from visiting his chief minister’s office or the Delhi secretariat while out on bail. He was also barred from signing any official documents unless deemed essential and only with prior approval from the Lieutenant Governor. This left him with almost no option but to resign from his post of chief minister. Although through this resignation, Kejriwal is trying to reach out to the people that he has no desire for the post and he isn’t corrupt, the AAP knows that the days ahead are going to be difficult.
The party has its roots in the anti-corruption movement called India Against Corruption of the last decade. The movement gained momentum as the then United Progressive Alliance government led by the Manmohan Singh government was maligned by various corruption scams. Kejriwal was also part of that movement, which was led by social activist Anna Hazare.
The failure to emerge as the national alternative
When the AAP was born, it promised that it would be a very different one and become the national alternative of both the Congress and the BJP. Although it is the only party other than BJP and Congress to rule in two states, the party is still far behind achieving its national dream of becoming a real alternative to both BJP and Congress. The worst part is that presently, the party has reduced itself to an ally of the Congress to defeat the BJP in national politics. In Punjab, the momentum that brought the party to power with a big mandate is gradually fading as evident in the Lok Sabha polls. This leaves the party with its stronghold Delhi, which is actually a union territory.
However, the AAP and its supporters maintain that it has achieved a lot, citing the party getting the national party status within 10 years of its existence. What they forget is that the AAP isn’t the only party to get national party status within such a short period. PA Sangma’s National People’s Party founded in 2012 — the same year when AAP was formed — achieved the national party status in 2019, at least three years before AAP.
While the truth may be bitter for the AAP and its ecosystem, the reality is that the party’s so-called image, driven by idealism in its nascent stage, as the alternative in Indian politics has hit the rock bottom with the party allying with its once arch-rival Congress to challenge the BJP in the name of saving “federalism and democracy” — the two essential features enshrined in our constitution.
Although the party, which emerged from a socio-political movement, talks about saving democracy, it is another story that the party has failed to nurture inner democracy within itself. It is everything about Kejriwal. Delhi’s new chief minister Atishi leaving Kejriwal’s chair empty and claiming herself a proxy ruler similar to Bharat, who ruled Ayodhya in absence of Sri Ram by placing his slippers to the throne, only confirms that the party has no ideological agenda and is completely centred on Kejriwal, whose main ambition is to become the prime minister of the country one day.
Reality is that Kejriwal in promoting himself has ensured that the AAP lost contact with the ideals of the socio-political movement from where it was born. As a result, the AAP today is no different from most of the existing political parties, which are run either by an individual or by a family and with almost negligible inner democracy. The Assam Gana Parishad, which also emerged from a socio-political movement in Assam, has at least fared better than AAP when it comes to inner party democracy.
Beyond Delhi assembly elections
Importantly, it is not the election victories that decide who is corrupt; it is the duty of the court to do so. So, Kejriwal’s politically smart move, even if it helps to win Delhi for the third time, isn’t going to help him in the long run, if the Supreme Court indicts him in the scam.
Actually, the ideas of a corruption free and a true political party for the “aam aadmi” that the AAP preached have taken a hit, especially after the liquor scam. Apart from this, the party’s alliance with the Congress at the Centre shows that it has failed to live up to the ideals it preached during the nascent stage. As a result of these two reasons, the party is currently staring at a credibility crisis, which is likely to exacerbate in the near future with the strengthening of the Congress as the main Opposition party in national politics. This is because the AAP rose in Delhi — and also in other states whether Punjab or Goa or Gujarat — by mostly eating into the traditional and prospective voters of the Congress.
The present scenario doesn’t project a good prospect for the party. In the near future, the AAP may not be seen as a serious player but just another junior ally of the Congress, if it does not address the credibility crisis that is gradually taking shape.
Sagarneel Sinha is a political commentator and tweets @SagarneelSinha. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.
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