Delhi Elections ========== It’s become customary to talk about AAP every time one mentions about the Delhi elections, which itself has been blown up beyond proportion. It is reckoned that, Delhi can be mapped to the oncoming national elections. Modi drew sensational crowds and Sheila Dixit begged the crowd to ‘stay on’ to listen to Rahul-ji. The AAP threatened to sweep the politics of the endemic corruption with their newfound jaadu (broomstick). Whilst we marvel at the level of growth demonstrated by the AAP, we must remember that is actually ‘growth’, within inverted commas. Aam Admi Party and Arvind Kejriwal have been merely the product of the media. Never before has any political party achieved such popularity in such short time. Indian National Congress took almost 40 years before it could become a prominent political outfit. BJP had its roots from RSS to Hindu Mahasabha to Jan Sangh, so it was in existence for nearly 40 years before an issue as serious as Babri Masjid could catapult it to the national stage. Despite the presence of MGR and Annadurai, DMK took nearly 20 years. Even MGR was in the public life and political arena for two decades before he could confidently venture out on his own. The only exception to this rule is the Telugu Desam Party. It took just nine months for NT Rama Rao to take his party to victory. If AAP wins, it would be 12 months, a feat nearly as spectacular as that of NTR and we would really have to start taking the electronic media, especially the English ones, seriously. That we wouldn’t have to do that is the only hope we have. AAP is a party formed on the premise of ‘external’ villains: that there’s ‘someone’ corrupt out there who needs to be fought; clearly a false premise. The corrupt people are us: the government officials, traffic cops, RTO inspectors, tehsildars, sand smugglers, PDS rice smugglers, well, just about most of us. Just the other day when I spotted an Indane delivery man on his tricycle, I stopped him and enquired about where and how to obtain gas connection. He did give me the address of the Indane office, but also suggested that I can get it without registration. He said he can ‘deliver’ the gas cylinder whenever I needed with just a ‘bit of extra’. Of course this will save me a lot hassle of running around to their offices and help me jump the waiting list. If I had not politely declined that offer, I won’t be considered eligible to join AAP, would I be? So, to borrow from the famous carpenter, how many of us have the right to ‘throw the first stone’? With all due respects to the lofty ideals of AAP, they are still quite far to travel both in terms of their ideological and political fortunes. For right or wrong the Congress and the BJP have come to represent the people of this country. With about 60% vote share between them they are what we are, as the people are the politics. Kejriwal must make a dent in our conscience first before he can make a dent in the ballot box. With keen and clean efforts and some tenacity, he might achieve it in another ten years, if not more. On the other hand, if he does it this election, it would be nothing short of a miracle. Another point that the political commentators keep stressing is that the elections in Delhi represent a rehearsal of the next year’s general elections. The only reason they cite for this is the cosmopolitan nature of the city. You get every state present in some area in Delhi, don’t you? But is that really enough reason? Tamil in Delhi often wouldn’t even know, or care, about the reasons that drive people in Tamil Nadu to vote for one party or the other. Cauvery, the river, drives the people of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to vote entirely differently. Not even Chennai and its suburbs vote alike. It’s not a bad thing; it just represents the diverse nature of our people and our culture. That’s why we have coalitions and multi-party fronts. Therefore, Delhi’s election is just that; Delhi’s election. Its results are in no way representative of any other place. Not even the performance or lack thereof of the central government. And I believe this battle is only between the BJP and Congress.
Posted on: Tue, 03 Dec 2013 22:31:45 +0000
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