january 4, 2014

From Movement to Government

Running the Delhi government will test the Aam Aadmi Partys ability to transform itself.
he Aam Aadmi Partys (AAP) decision to form a government with the support of the very party it has been bitterly opposed to since its inception was not surprising. Ideally the party, which made a spectacular debut in the assembly elections just a few months after deciding to enter the fray, would have preferred to consolidate its support base by being in the opposition. The party sought to overcome this dilemma by engaging in an informal referendum, asking its supporters through telephone calls, text, emails and, most importantly, through ward meetings on whether it should form the government. The overwhelming response in favour of assuming ofce forced the AAPs hand. The inability of the single largest party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), to form the government without horse-trading and the prompt support provided by the Congress left it with little choice. Moreover, had the AAP refused to form a government it would have disappointed a large section of the urban poor who seem to have voted for the party based on its promises to reduce the cost of essential services. The AAPs entry as a political force in the historically bipolar political system in Delhi has put the BJP and the Congress in an uncomfortable bind. The BJP refused to form a government, despite being short by only four seats, knowing that any manoeuvre to garner support by luring legislators from other parties would have backred on the party in the coming general elections. The AAPs strident use of the anti-corruption plank prevented the BJP from indulging in horse-trading. For the AAP too, there would have been no guarantee of renewed support, especially from the poor, if the party had refused to form a government and looked at a re-poll coinciding with the Lok Sabha elections. From the AAPs perspective then, as a party that has relied on an agenda that is not drawn from particularisms (caste, religion or region) to garner support, meeting expectations through governance becomes vitally important. The AAPs rise and the manner in which it has achieved power (even if in a small, symbolically important, state) has had few precedents in Indias democracy. It managed to bring together a cross-section of Delhis population and successfully converted a single-point mass movement into a political party with diverse support. Its support base has included members of the upper-middle and middle classes who have bought into the anti-corruption message and have interpreted it as governance
Economic & Political Weekly EPW

delinked from inefciency and malfeasance. The urban poor especially those living in slum clusters extended support on the promises to ensure the supply of 700 litres of free water for households, to reduce power tariffs by 50% after a thorough audit of the electricity supplying companies, and to regularise the illegal and unauthorised residential areas, including slum clusters. Whether AAP manages to grow out of Delhi into a national political force depends, to a large extent, on how it performs in Delhi. Its rise has been helped by some fortuitous factors like the relatively less importance for caste in urban Delhi, its large migrant population and the saturation coverage of its activities by the media. Delhis compact geographical space also helped. Such advantages will be lacking in other states. The AAP has also resisted the adoption of ideological positions and has chosen not to present a clear vision of the society it wants to build. It has focused instead on offering proximate and pragmatic solutions to widely felt problems. This has worked well in its short rise, as it has allowed its largely left-of-centre leaders and mass base to take along a large section of the right-of-centre middle class. It appears that the AAP leadership expects to sustain their cross-class support base by staying away from clearly enunciated economic policies and foregrounding the ght against corruption and ination. There is, however, no guarantee that this tightrope walk can be sustained for long; after all the denition of corruption itself is different for those who live in fancy south Delhi and those who live in that citys slums. In terms of the political positions the AAP has taken, the partys rhetoric has itself showed a slow but clear shift to the left-of-centre position. This will, if it continues on this path, make it a replacement for the Congress, much of whose mass base and populist imagery the AAP is adopting. If the AAP is to succeed in this, it will be forced to stand increasingly in stark opposition to the right-wing BJP. For both replacing the Congress as well as providing an alternative to the BJP, the AAP will need to articulate clearer political positions and take ideological stands. Its willingness, and ability, to do so will perhaps decide whether it will grow to be a national force. Not doing so may have been a strength but may soon turn into a liability. However, the AAP has surprised most political observers with its success against all predictions of failure; perhaps it will do so again. 7

JANUARY 4, 2014

vol xliX no 1