Anti-corruption party to govern Delhi

December 23, 2013 9:54 am

Anti-corruption party to govern Delhi

By Amy Kazmin in New Delhi

Handed power: Aam Aadmi party leader Arvind Kejriwal

India’s one-year-old Aam Aadmi party, formed by a former tax official turned crusading anti-corruption activist, announced on Monday that it will form the local government in New Delhi, after a stunning electoral debut fuelled by public anger against India’s political elites. Like Italy’s Five Star Movement led by comedian come politician Beppe Grillo, the AAP is an electoral insurgency. It has tapped into deep Indian disgruntlement – especially among its urban educated voters – at the lack of accountability of established politicians, many of whom seem to treat electoral victories as blank cheques.The strong wave of support for the party, which has managed to capture 30 per cent of the city’s vote, has shocked and dismayed the political establishment, and triggered near euphoria among disillusioned urban voters hoping for radical change.

The impressive debut prevented the oppositionBharatiya Janata party from securing the majority it needed to seize power from Congress, which has run the local administration in New Delhi for the past 15 years.

The AAP, and its leader Arvind Kejriwal, a graduate of one of the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology, will now be tested on whether they can move beyond campaign rhetoric to govern India’s congested capital city, with its population of around 12m people.

The AAP – its name means “Common Man” party – hasa political agenda that mixes economic populism, such as promises to slash local electricity bills by 50 per cent, with a strong emphasis on good governance, including zealous prosecution of corrupt officials.

If the young party is able to fulfil some of its pledges, it could in other parts of the country, which is now gearing up for a bitter 2014 parliamentary election battle between the ruling Congress party and the opposition BJP.

“They [the AAP] are likely to utilise the next two months to essentially demonstrate not just to the citizens of Delhi but to voters elsewhere that there is life beyond the Congress and the BJP,” Siddharth Vardajaran, former editor of The Hindu newspaper, told Indian television. “Here is an alternative that is not just utopian, but is electable and scalable.

“The national implications of what we are seeing play out in Delhi today cannot be minimised,” he added.

But others say that the party, comprised entirely of political novices with no previous experience as elected officials, may struggle with the sky-high expectations of New Delhi’s voters.

Born out of an anti-corruption crusade that rocked New Delhi two years ago, the AAP rode a wave of visceral public disgust with India’s political establishment to win 28 of the 70 seats in New Delhi’s legislative assembly.

Since the AAP had also fallen short of a full majority, its leaders initially declared they would not even attempt to form the government, as they did not have a full mandate.

But after critics accused them of shirking the responsibility given to them by New Delhi’s voters, the AAP on Monday reversed its decision, and said it would form the government, with outside support from Congress.

Before taking the decision, the party carried out a public-opinion poll, using internet, mobile phones and public meetings, to gauge sentiment on whether they should take power, with the response said to be overwhelmingly in favour.

The BJP, however, quickly denounced the AAP as unprincipled for forming a government with the outside support of Congress, which Mr Kejriwal and other AAP had vigorously attacked during the election campaign.

“They are talking about cleansing the political system . . . all through they have been accusing Congress as being one of the most corrupt parties in the world,” said Harsh Vardhan, the BJP’s leader in New Delhi. “Now, just for the sake of attaining power, they have compromised with the same corrupt Congress. This decision f [the] AAP is literally a betrayal of the wishes of the people in Delhi.”