YPOST

A delve into the workings of Aam Admi Party 

and Public Participation

Aam Admi Party,  an Indian political party, formally launched on 26 November 2012, came into existence following differences between the activists Arvind Kejriwal and Anna Hazare regarding decisions on politicising the popular India Against Corruption movement that had been in dire need of a Jan Lokpal Bill since 2011. Hazare was of the opinion  that the movement should remain politically unaligned while Kejriwal felt the need of  a direct political involvement.

The party's first electoral test came about in 2013, during the Delhi legislative assembly election, from which it emerged as the second-largest party, winning 28 of the 70 seats. No party having obtained an overall majority, the AAP formed a minority government with conditional support from the Indian National Congress. The first point in its election manifesto had been that within 15 days, it would pass a bill for a strong ombudsman position that would investigate charges against political leaders on a priority basis. When it became clear that the other major parties would not support this bill, the government resigned after 49 days.

The AAP says that the promise of equality and justice that forms a part of the constitution of India and of its preamble has not been fulfilled and that the independence of India has replaced hostile takeover of a foreign power with the domination of an elite political body. According to the party, the common people of India remain unheard and unseen other than when it fulfils political agendas. It wants to reverse the way in which the accountability of government operates and has taken an interpretation of the Gandhian concept of ‘Swaraj’ (or self-rule) as a tenet. It believes that through swaraj the government will be directly accountable to the people instead of higher officials. The swaraj  model lays stress on key principles like decentralisation, self governance, community building, etc.

It is interesting to see however, that according to Kejriwal, the Aam Admi Party refuses to be guided by set in stone ideologies and that they are entering politics to change the system: "We are aam admis. If we find our solution in the left we are happy to borrow it from there. If we find our solution in the right, we are happy to borrow it from there."

We wait to see what future direction the Aam Admi Party takes and what becomes the scenario in light of the 2014 elections. Whether or not they will stick to their principles once empowered is anybody’s guess right now, but if one has to take public opinion as a yardstick, Kejriwal, and his Aam Admi Party are indeed shaping up to be a strong future contender as a mouthpiece of people’s discordances with the system.  

                                                                                                                                 Archishman Sarkar

M.Sc Media, P.G 1