It is well past midnight and Mr.Kejriwal and his team are perhaps still thinking about their role in the Delhi Assembly. By the time they come out with their decision, hopefully my post would be out for my readers to read. Funnily, my readers and the AAM AADMI PARTY (AAP) have something in common. One group is RELUCTANT TO READ & the other is RELUCTANT TO LEAD. My readers can be coaxed or even emotionally blackmailed into reading whatever I write, just as the AAP leaders need their strings to be pulled by the Aam Aadmi.
The AAP apparently has been gathering referendum in order to take a call on forming the Government in Delhi. They held 272 Jansabhas in Delhi yesterday seeking public opinion on their next course of action. While the residents of those 272 wards turned up to redirect the lost ship towards the destination, the wily old politicians would have been enjoying the show and laughing out loud at this "stage fright" being exhibited by a group of people on whose lofty visions the public had put faith in. Mr.Kejriwal may continue to say "hum Aam Aadmi Party hain. Joh janta chahegi, hum wahi karenge" but I have a reason to believe that this reluctance to form the Government stems from something else and not mere respect for public opinion.
The election result in Delhi was ground breaking and it was nice to know that citizens had the conviction to come out in large numbers and vote against mediocrity, status quo & bad governance (not necessarily in Delhi but by Congress in general). The fact that they voted for AAP implies that the "corruption free governance" promised by this new party struck a chord with the Aam Aadmi. Last year, when Mr.Kejriwal and his team charted their own course with the modus operandi of "Name & Shame", the existing political parties grew insecure and afraid for there was an imminent threat of all the dark secrets being spilled out in public domain. They shrewdly asked Mr.Kejriwal to get into politics and clean the system from within instead of just mud slinging from outside. All that was wrong with the political and bureaucratic system was evident to us as well; and we were looking for a new option on that electronic voting machine which according to us would stand for the all the virtues that make any nation a proud one. Mr.Kejriwal floated the AAM AADMI PARTY then and his party automatically fitted into that image of an honest party that fights the evil. There was an immediate emotional connect as all the frustrations of the common man translated into support for AAP.
Mr.Kejriwal subsequently decided to put his party to the ultimate political test in Delhi with promises that seemed too idealistic but nevertheless tempting for an honest voter to vote in their favour. Congress got routed while BJP fell short of the half way mark. But AAP pleasantly surprised all of us by winning 28 seats. BJP cannot come together with Congress and so it expectedly played its political card by not coming forward to form the Government and as a result, the onus of forming the Government fell on AAP. Congress, in the meanwhile, sensed an opportunity to stay in power and hence offered its support to the AAP. Political gains may drive parties like Congress and BJP to act in a certain manner but it stumped me to find the AAP shying away from taking up the responsibility which was bestowed upon it by the citizens.
But now it is obvious that AAP is feeling the jitters when the time has come to actually take control of the ship. We are not dumb to fall for the "JANSABHA CIRCUS". When people had voted for the AAP, they voted for AAP(the ruling party) & not for the AAP(the opposition party). No voter votes for someone unless he/she has a vision of his/her "candidate of choice" in power. Mr.Kejriwal is intelligent enough to understand that every vote that it received was a mandate from people to rule Delhi and fulfill those promises. This is an insult to the electorate and the Election Commission should recover the costs of holding the election from the concerned parties should there be a re-election. We just cannot let public money be wasted in such futile exercises.
The dominant thought on my mind is that AAP has miscalculated its capabilities and hence it is dragging its feet now. They wanted to create a splash in the water and are now faced with a Tsunami instead. A partnership with BJP(the single largest party) would restrict their flight while getting into bed with Congress would be bad for their image. They have reached a point of not return now. In hindsight, they should have declared their political ambition a lot earlier to mobilise more support. They would do well to start early in other states for the ensuing General Elections in 2014.
They are under-prepared to run the Capital and understandably so. Good intentions do not imply good administration and here the seasoned politicians would agree with me. "Aasman se girey, aur khajur mein atkey" and the irony is that there won't be a second opportunity if they let this one go. My worry is that now there is a greater chance of poor governance given the inexperience and reluctance. And that would give a chance to the existing political parties to get back at them. Moreover, taming Congress and keeping it under check would be a task in itself should they opt for a coalition. A coalition with the BJP would have been better towards the achievement of their objectives and cornering Congress but going by pure numbers, there would be more bargaining power in coalition with the Congress. All THE BEST to this promising party and hopefully power and political engagements do not corrupt the so-called A FEW GOOD MEN & WOMEN!!!
