With Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal pitching his election tent in Varanasi to fight the Lok Sabha election against BJP’s Prime Minister hopeful Narendra Modi, a higher profile than may otherwise be warranted for the fledgling party has been assured. Nevertheless, this may be the only positive for the party so far since it announced its intention to take part in the parliamentary election after jettisoning its responsibility in Delhi, where it held government power for a mere 49 days.
The AAP has gone beyond the expectations of most by deciding to contest a large number of Lok Sabha seats, well beyond the hundred that was being initially speculated. Presumably, it is aiming to gather enough votes across several states to justify being classified as a national party as distinct from regional ones even if it does not pick up too many seats.
That may help it to remain in play in the post-election scenario.
But the AAP’s fundamental weakness is that it is yet to stake out an ideological territory for itself, unlike the Congress, the BJP, or the Left. In order to appeal to voters it is trying to be all things to all people all over the nation. In a forum of industry and business not long ago, Mr Kejriwal said India’s business was business, echoing Calvin Coolidge, an early 20th century US President who famously said, “The business of America is business.”
Mr Kejriwal was seeking to assure big business in the country who seemed alarmed by the AAP leader taking potshots at well-known industrialists in the guise of fighting corruption.
But in a Varanasi speech, Mr Kejriwal once again raised doubts over whether he was in favour of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in retail. The seeming contradiction arises from the AAP not having done its ideological math.
The AAP leader has also recently said that “communalism” was a bigger issue for India than “corruption”. The observation is no doubt aimed at poaching minority votes from parties such as the Congress and the SP, but raises questions over the raison d’etre of the AAP.
The party had come into existence with the avowed purpose of combating corruption in government and politics following the Anna Hazare campaign and mass protest actions.
AAP’s contradictions have been noted, but this essentially populist political platform could pick up votes by addressing the angst of the lower middle classes, although it is far from clear if it can gain too many seats outside the big cities.
Its “spoiler” tag may be merited in that the party has not arisen from sectional interests directly, does not have a home base in any part of the country, and slurs over the nature of its ties with business.
