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The ‘Common Party Agenda Of Polarization’ And The AAP

By Mathew Jacob

21 April, 2014
Countercurrents.org

Every half a decade, there is a gentle and from this time onwards, a harsh reminder that the real power of the Indian democracy rests in that finger of every voting citizen. A power that is played out in a truly reel script format like a Anurag Kashyap or Prakash Jha production.

What is fundamental to any democracy is that the true power remains with its citizens, also for equal participation in decision making on the ‘who, how, why and what’ of the much contested process of ‘development’. Well, some might argue if people needed to take all the decisions why do we want politicians fighting elections to form the much coveted government? How much one wishes that the answer be ‘the idea of serving the people, representing them and their needs or nation building’, the reality is that governments have become the constitutional machineries of power abuse, wealth accumulation, implementing vindictive agendas and the sole reason for all the farmer suicides, extrajudicial killings, communalism and yes, corruption too. In a nutshell, the State has failed its people!!

From being ‘of the people, by the people, for the people’, the Indian democracy has shifted beyond reasonable doubt towards ‘of the mighty and the crony capitalists, by the upper caste corrupt elite, for the mighty and the crony capitalists’. The policies of liberalization, privatization and globalization two decades ago led to the opening up of Indian markets, thereby marking a clear shift of power towards the masters of capital. The old equation between the state and civil society has been successfully disrupted and replaced by capital. Civil society has little hopes until it challenges the state – capital nexus because the free market and state are one entity today and harshly regressive.
It is in this context that the newly formed Aam Aadmi Party, has emerged and taken up some of the issues challenging the basic construct of Indian democracy. Arvind Kejriwal and his aam aadmis and aurats are certainly not the first who started the mission of revisiting the true democracy and try to establish people’s rule. Thousands of politically and socially committed men and women across the length and breadth of this country are carrying out this agenda for over the decades. So what has made Arvind and his AAP go viral and catch the attention of millions?

Several factors, which include the timing of the movement managed to tap the discontent of the urban poor and the middle-class. AAP’s precursor, the Anna Hazare led anti-corruption movement managed to galvanize people in the cities and towns and then the actual launching of a political party with anti-corruption as the prime agenda went down as a daring act of inspired politics. The coverage by the media added to the popularity not just in the capital but all across the cities, towns and villages. It led to the inclusion of the little known aam aadmi in the Indian political movement.

A close look at the Anna Hazare movement makes us believe that it was not only the anti-corruption movement but an anti-Congress movement too. The falling out and BJP’s adoption of leaders like Kiran Bedi and V.K. Singh is a convincing enough fact to state that the RSS and BJP tried to reap the benefits of the Hazare movement. Unexpectedly for the BJP, which wanted the AAP to play the spoil sport for the Congress, the latter went a step further by crushing BJP’s dream of return to power in the national capital after three long terms in the opposition. The underdog AAP rose as a challenge to these parties. The corporate media, funded by the same corporations that fund the BJP and the Congress, is doing a desperate cover up job for both these parties.

Conversing with several human rights activists, political workers of the ‘left’ and the ‘right’, social workers and development workers, on the rise of AAP, leads to no decisive conclusion. Those who agreed with AAP and have found space for their agendas and politics have jumped on the bandwagon, certainly making it more popular. Those who have ideological differences, have either condemned the movement all together or are still observing the rise and the fall of AAP. The aam aadmi and his party have raised very valid questions, even though the solutions which the party proposes are not agreeable to many, but they have created a definite space for dialogue and debate.

With the climate of intolerance and vengeance spreading in the country, AAP has brought to the forefront, a few if not all, structural questions clearly challenging the status quo. While some believe that they are thorns on the path of Modi’s RSS chariot of Hindutva, others including some ‘Congress friendly social activists’ believe that they have harmed the ‘secular party’ more thereby ‘strengthening’ the BJP.

True to their own beliefs though the AAP has successfully damaged both, the right as well as the right of the right, if one is to count in terms of vote banks. What they have really attempted and succeeded partially in doing too is to change the national political agenda and floated the idea of radical political change. While some experts as well as the right parties have argued that AAP is the ‘new left’, acknowledging the old left’s state of near demise, ultimately it is the millions of people engaged with AAP who will determine which direction it takes from here.

It is shameful that the ongoing parliamentary election has become all about Mr. Modi. All other agendas have taken a back seat like the Congress party itself. It is difficult to remember any election that has been fought keeping the issue around one personality as it has been during this one. While the BJP has campaigned tirelessly and polarized the votes of the upper caste Hindus even by projecting an OBC candidate, the Congress and other parties have constantly targeted Modi instead of focusing and moving ahead with their agendas. The other parties have just fallen in a trap well knit by the BJP. If not for the significant performance of AAP in the Delhi election and a strong movement slowly building across the country, Mr. Advani would have still had better bargaining powers and claims for becoming the next Prime Minister. On 16th May, when the results will be announced, he will still be in contention, considering that within the BJP too the polarization is escalating. The upper caste RSS, BJP old guards as well as ‘secular’ allies and global powers will have their final say.

For now though the agenda for the BJP is Namo and for others it is ‘Namo No-More’. AAP too has not been left untouched by this Modi-centric turn in the polity. They have gone a step ahead and pitted Arvind Kejriwal against Modi contest in Varanasi. Maybe AAP has taken an ideological position in pitching their best candidate against the common minimum agenda of this election, but it has to leave it at that and go on to focus on the groundwork. For AAP, the real agenda is a fight against corruption, crony capitalists and criminal candidates and they should fight on these rather than be swayed by BJP’s agenda.

AAP has chosen to contest in 440 odd constituencies in the ongoing parliamentary elections. While the election commission has raised the expenditure bar per candidate to Rs. 70 lakhs, most of the AAP candidates are not able to mobilize even a tenth of the amount. A lot of decisions and processes seem to be adopted haphazardly, which can be established by the fact that people are either leaving the party, are dropping out from the election race, or involved in episodes of allegations and counter allegations and the ugly race for the election ticket. It is evident that if time and experience were not so limited to make several important decisions; AAP could have focused on key constituencies and candidates keeping in mind their limited infrastructure. Placing these many candidates is a reflection of party’s presence in these areas and an opportunity to reach out to the masses. In our country, elections are not only the battles to win on their own but also an apt time to reach out and broaden the support base. Considering AAP’s is still in its infancy in the Indian political circuit, the candidates need to reach out and work hard not only to build a base among the masses but also to establish their commitment with the cause and the party. The pulse and mood of the local population has to be comprehended well also.

AAP could have looked the other way around and fielded candidates with strong prospects. This would have definitely ensured more representation in the Indian Parliament. But for a political outfit which associates itself more with a social movement, the representation in the next parliament is of slightly lesser importance than reaching out to a widely diverse and divided population. There are a minimum of 10 AAP candidates with strong winning prospects as mentioned during some of the recent opinion polls. All will largely depend on the efforts and the outreach during the campaigns. A repeat of the Delhi assembly elections is certainly not around the corner but a surprise can never be ruled out. With eminent and respectable candidates like Arvind Kejriwal, Yogendra Yadav, Medha Patkar, Babu Matthew, Soni Sori, Nina Nayak, Ashish Khetan, Anand Kumar, Dayamani Barla, Rajmohan Gandhi, S.P. Udaykumar and a few others, one can expect clean and responsible representatives even if they are not able to form the government.

Where does this party go from here? This is a bigger challenge than winning the parliamentary elections. The road ahead is bumpy and offers plenty of challenges. The party has to be decisive and the members need to come together. The onus of building the party should not rest with the few rather it needs to trickle down to all the levels. A constant political involvement with the masses is a must. Immaterial of the outcome of the elections, the candidates and the party workers will need to take up the challenges and maintain the current momentum rather than turning dormant awaiting another election.

The uprising in Delhi needs to be replicated in as many places as possible. This will involve maintaining close engagement with local issues and the people. Engagements with various civil, political, social and cultural issues in each constituency need to be meticulously maintained. Alliances need to be built with the political and social groups and issues which are not part of the party today. A close watch on the performance of the parliamentarians and assembly members and highlighting issues of public importance remain a key to ensuring public accountability. The motto of ‘educate, agitate and organize’ as Ambedkar had stated, should be part of the party’s functioning.

At the central leadership level, the party needs to write and re-write its policies and stands. There are obvious differences in opinion among the party’s leaderships. The policies with regard to health, education, housing, agriculture, water, gender, national security, foreign relations, nuclear power etc. need to be discussed and taken to a conclusion. The culture of dialogue and debate and not of confrontations and allegations needs to be cultivated. The party also needs to have an operational framework and structure, and most importantly identify and develop new young leaders for the future.

Even though the current election seems to be moving towards polarization in favour of the BJP and its allies, it would be interesting to wait for the final results. Also, the final tally and vote share in each constituency managed by AAP shall be worth interpreting. These are the voters that overcame the rigid boundaries of caste, sex and dynasty, to restore trust and faith in the struggle for people’s rule. These aam aadmis and aurats are the potential foot soldiers of the movement and the party has to focus and ensure engagement with them after the election. The final vote share is something the national and regional parties, and the corporate houses shall be eager to know in order to redraft their policies and roadmaps.

It will probably take some more time for the common man to trust the common man’s party and definitely he will seek for more causes other than just corruption but for now AAP has for sure sowed the seeds of an alternative political force and agenda in Indian democracy.

Mathew Jacob is currently working with the May 18 Memorial Foundation in Gwangju, Korea.



 



 

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