Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and its Chairperson, Arvind Kejriwal, owe their political incarnation to the anti-corruption movement of 2011. The movement’s epicentre was Delhi and it brought together intellectuals from diverse fields – bureaucracy, law, teaching, banking, fine and performing arts, sports, films, and social work. Successful people from diverse backgrounds came together to create a political party where the central ideology was eradicating corruption. Barely ten years after AAP’s inception, its founder and central figure, Arvind Kejriwal himself, is facing corruption charges while three of his colleagues — Satyendra Jain, Manish Sisodia, and Sanjay Singh — are already in judicial custody for several months.
During the 2011 anti-corruption movement, Manmohan Singh-led UPA government was in power at the Center and Congress’ Sheila Dixit in Delhi. When they talked about removing corruption, they meant removing Congress from power. All those who were opposed to Congress, including people in the BJP and Hindutva outfits, lent their weight to the anti-corruption movement. Baba Ramdev’s heroics at Ramlila Maidan and his uncontrolled diatribe against Sonia Gandhi would still be fresh in the memory of many of the readers.
Subsequently, Arvind Kejriwal registered spectacular political wins in the Delhi Assembly elections, 28 seats out of 70 in 2013, then 67 in 2015, and 62 in 2020. This kind of victory is unprecedented in India’s political history, where there have always been strong counter-political forces for any party to feel too cosy or comfortable. While AAP’s grip over Delhi remained tight, with the civic poll also going in its favour, many of the luminaries in AAP’s initial team had deserted the party. Kiran Bedi, Prashant Bhushan, Anand Kumar, Yogender Yadav, and Kumar Vishwas, among many others, either left AAP or created a distance from AAP’s day-to-day affairs. This left Arvind Kejriwal with fewer friends who could stand up to the power when the tide turns against him.
But a true Delhiite, Kejriwal has been the typical rough and tough Delhi boy, with a don’t-mess-with-me attitude. He had his hands on the pulse of Delhi’s people. He knew what would cheer the people and make them fight for him. Others in politics had neither this connection with the Delhi people nor the time to make Delhi their priority.
Now comes the most vital part of what makes Arvind Kejriwal the phenomenon he is. People across Delhi would swear that Kejriwal has delivered on people’s expectations like no one did in the past. A big reason for AAP’s political victory, particularly in 2015, was the inflated electricity bills that people received. It was the early days of private distribution of electricity and collection of bills, and in Delhi, power distribution companies of Reliance and Tata were engaged. AAP cashed in on people’s frustration over electricity bills that Delhi consumers would think were twice or thrice higher than the actual bills. After coming to power, the AAP government set this right and, in the process, sent strong signals to both profit-seeking industrialists and greedy bureaucrats that the AAP government would not tolerate the exploitation of the people.
While AAP and Kejriwal have been able to rein in greedy elements and transfer the benefits to the people, there was a limit to how much he could do. Then, Kejriwal tried to make a distinction by prioritising education and healthcare. But in the face of Delhi’s extreme population density in certain pockets, updating or upgrading existing schools or healthcare infrastructure was possible only to a point. Then, Kejriwal tried giving pensions and monetary help to widows, handicapped people, and so on. Thanks to its strong carder base in Delhi, the AAP government ensured the needy received government benefits.
At this juncture, the Delhi government under AAP needed more funds, but, so far, it could not augment existing revenue streams or add new ones. Where will the money come from for AAP’s ambitious pro-people initiatives? Liquor is bad but government needs money to do good. Kejriwal’s idealism hit the harsh realities of politics and governance.
One can understand his intent when Kejriwal says he cares for Delhi’s people. How to get the money to get maximum benefit to the people is a question that makes and breaks governments. All state governments and government bodies face this problem. It is also a universal problem faced by every government in the world. Kejriwal could have used understanding and empathy with other governments and taken a collaborative approach to getting more funds for his state and people.
But once you side with the masses and make a chorus with them, you are likely going to be a rebel than a statesman. Imran Khan’s politics in Pakistan serves as an example. Here lies Kejriwal’s vulnerability.
A critical area where Kejriwal could have shown his calibre was tackling Delhi’s pollution. In 2015, the Chinese capital, Beijing, was in the grip of extreme air pollution; today, it’s an example of a complete turnaround. Delhi was another world capital hit by high air and noise pollution; it’s still so. (IPA Service)
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