Why the AAP value proposition is fizzling out

If Kejriwal can't correct the ideological imbalance in his own party, it will no longer be a serious contender in the coming elections

Is the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) still being viewed as a serious contender for power at the Centre, challenging the two established parties, the Congress and the BJP? These days, what Arvind Kejriwal is facing is a challenge not unfamiliar to traditional rivals when one of the founding members seems to be upset after being denied a Lok Sabha ticket from Delhi. At present, there appears to be a wide gap between the AAP leadership drawn from people who are either professional campaigners or members of the middle class who have newly been drawn into politics.

 

Is the aspirants’ enthusiasm for an AAP ticket for the Lok Sabha elections anything to instigate a silent upheaval in the fledgling party? As of now, it seems so. There are signs of a rebellion in AAP ranks over ticket distribution, especially from old-time activists opposed to lateral entrants being handed the party ticket. If the latest reports about the party are anything to go by, it has achieved less than what most had expected. The AAP has to be wary of power seekers and opportunists if it wishes to emerge as the game-changer at the Centre, too.

 

“He (Kejriwal) should have concentrated on Delhi, turned it into a model state and showcased it before the country. But instead of that, he appears to be in a hurry and wants to contest the Lok Sabha elections,” social activist Anna Hazare had said in an interview ahead of endorsing Trinamool Congress boss Mamata Banerjee.

 

"I am not contesting from Rae Bareli. I never agreed to nor do I now ... I've been denying this for the last two months," senior AAP leader Shazia Ilmi wrote on microblogging site Twitter. "It was almost decided almost two months back that I was not going to contest against Sonia Gandhi and I don't see why it should be seen like I am at war with people," she told CNN-IBN.

 

Noted danseuse and AAP member Mallika Sarabhai opted out of the Lok Sabha polls as she felt ignored in the party. Sarabhai, who was earlier associated with anti-graft crusader Hazare’s Jan Lokpal movement, joined AAP on January 8.

 

Member of AAP's national executive Ashok Agarwal quit the party this week, saying, "the movement seems to have become emotionless, causing doubts in the mind of people and even those like me, who are today feeling that the party is functioning like a private limited company."

 

"Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the AAP is finding itself faced with problems and charges not so different from those that afflict the conventional political parties. The AAP has emerged out of a civil society movement and political ambitions of its leaders have arisen in a short span of time. At this juncture it is safe to say that all evils of traditional political parties have gripped it, too. The bigger power games are played at the state and national levels as well. It is evident that the party’s promise of a different kind of politics and a bold new alternative to the people is mere a slogan. Frankly speaking, I feel that the AAP’s future is bleak," observes S K Dwivedi, professor at University of Lucknow.

 

Their primary grouse is that the party has consistently been ignoring old-timers and founders of the AAP and has been favouring newcomers instead.  The aam aadmi vision has taken a back seat and a group of elite individuals has been promoted to take over the party.

 

Before Kejriwal decides to clear his political backyard, he will have to clear the ideological imbalance in his own party. He and his party will have to choose between remaining tied to an agitational past and moving forward. The party's stunning performance at the Delhi polls was more like a Bollywood movie script, but now the way things are unfolding at a rapid pace, it seems like a bad script for the forthcoming polls. Kejriwal has a lonely and uphill struggle ahead of him.