Repoll calls show AAP’s true grit
13 Dec 2013 4:17 AM IST
The fearless manner in which the Aam Aadmi Party has handled its nascent rise and stunning debut in the Delhi assembly elections as well as its steadfast refusal to share the throne of power with disgraced Congress in order to end the current impasse are both commendable acts in their own right. Not only has the Arvind Kejriwal-led infant party swept the seats cutting across identity politics based on class, caste, creed, language in the national capital, it has also shown the determination in being not swayed by the lure of power, even though it can form the government with outside support from the defeated Congress, which has won just eight seats. However, Kejriwal’s staunch dismissal of the Congress’ offer to prop it up has raised the political fraternity and media chatterati confused, probably because they are still unaccustomed to this unselfish mode of politics. Evidently, AAP has become the embodiment of excellent political entrepreneurship, given the spectacular success achieved by it in such a short span of time, riding the anti-incumbent mood of the nation. But their unwillingness to accept the mantle of government need not be seen as a reflection of their inability to assume power or deliver responsible governance. Instead, it could be seen as its setting stage for the next level of political participation, which is at the national, pan-Indian level.
As the AAP victory rally in the national capital has demonstrated, the newborn party born on the common ground of delivering good governance as well as solving the pressing problems of the common man is already eyeing to take on both Congress and BJP at the national level in upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Even if their claims of bagging 150 seats don’t come true, still, theirs will be an experiment worth conducting and emulating. Not only is the country in dire need of a third alternative to the entrenched and hackneyed style of doing politics by the two major political camps, the rise of AAP is also a good omen for the ‘Federal Front’, which might now have an actual chance of seeing the day. Moreover, since the politics of AAP is more about a technocratic and citizen-oriented cleansing of the old system of caste and religion-based identity politics, an ambit that includes even most of the regional parties, attaching themselves to the cleaner badge of AAP would restore the lost credibility to some extent. In fact, that it would be a secular front with the promise of a good and corruption-free governance could very well become the reason behind a potential swing towards this now realisable third alternative.
As the AAP victory rally in the national capital has demonstrated, the newborn party born on the common ground of delivering good governance as well as solving the pressing problems of the common man is already eyeing to take on both Congress and BJP at the national level in upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Even if their claims of bagging 150 seats don’t come true, still, theirs will be an experiment worth conducting and emulating. Not only is the country in dire need of a third alternative to the entrenched and hackneyed style of doing politics by the two major political camps, the rise of AAP is also a good omen for the ‘Federal Front’, which might now have an actual chance of seeing the day. Moreover, since the politics of AAP is more about a technocratic and citizen-oriented cleansing of the old system of caste and religion-based identity politics, an ambit that includes even most of the regional parties, attaching themselves to the cleaner badge of AAP would restore the lost credibility to some extent. In fact, that it would be a secular front with the promise of a good and corruption-free governance could very well become the reason behind a potential swing towards this now realisable third alternative.
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