The Rise of the Aam Aadmi Party: Some Points, Some Questions We write this note in the context of several comrades, organisations and intellectuals being in the midst of deciding their position on and approach to the Aam Aadmi Party. We wished to place some points for discussion in this context. AAPs Major Contribution to Opening Political Space First, we note the key contributions that AAP has made to the political scene. The new partys actions have mostly been a huge step forward in India politics. In particular, its contributions include: It has brought back questions of peoples basic needs - including the question of the dignity of ordinary citizens - into public debate. Through this, it has halted the enormous effort by the corporates and the media to push the BJP and Modi as the only alternative to a brutal, uncaring and pro-corporate Congress. AAP has reset the political agenda. It has challenged the fact that the system says it is democratic and pro people, while actually betraying the majority of the people repeatedly. In particular, it has implicitly challenged the enormous power of the bureaucracy and the police, two institutions which no party has consistently targeted for many years. AAP is the only political party that has demanded that the government should become more democratic and that government officials should have to answer to the public. No other party has raised this issue since the 1970s. It has shown that it is possible to generate widespread, cross-class and cross-community mass support through transparent fundraising, effective organising and direct engagement. It has also broken the myth that electoral politics can only be conducted through crass manipulation and tokenism. It has directly challenged the open looting being engaged in by sections of the corporates. This has put both the national parties on the defensive and, once again, forced issues on to the political agenda that were earlier absent. In this sense, excepting a few recent positions it has taken, AAP has reopened the space for political debate and made a major contribution to popular struggle in this country. The position taken by certain critics, who have rejected the party or described it as a front for other forces, hence should be rejected. However, just as some have rejected the party, some have instead argued that the AAP is the party that should be endorsed by all leftists and progressives. Many key leaders, activists and intellectuals have joined the party. Some Questions About the Future of the AAP There are, however, some questions that remain - not about the value of what AAP has done so far, but about what might happen in future. These are as follows: The party is going to face, and is already facing, an intense backlash from the corporate sector - particularly the truly big capitalists in India. These capitalists control most of the mainstream media and influence a significant part of the bureaucracy, the courts, and the elite. They are also integrated with Indian and global finance. When this backlash comes it will hence take the form of a concentrated media attack and an attempt to stop the party from achieving anything. What is the partys plan for countering this? Since so many of its key organisational people are from middle class and elite backgrounds, will these people continue to stay with the party when it gets a bad name, when it is ridiculed and insulted in the media, and so on? In the long run, such a backlash can only be countered by a mass upsurge. But who will this mass be? AAP consistently refuses to say that it is committed to justice, to ending poverty, or to any other social issue that does not directly involve the bureaucracy. If AAP truly believes that company CEOs and daily wage workers are all aam aadmi and all the same, will it be able to take on any issue that involves the exploitation of one by the other? Linked to the above: if the party is not willing to stand by any section of society, will people stand up for this party once the initial euphoria around it wears out? Or will they begin to see it as confused and wishy washy? AAP has taken a position that it will not accept any alliances or external support - all individuals who wish to work with the party should join it, and organisations should merge themselves into the party. This is understandable from their organisational point of view. But what kind of long term impact will it have on progressive politics? Even if AAP manages to overcome the above points, historical experience in India has repeatedly shown that no progressive agenda, leave alone a revolutionary one, can be taken forward through electoral politics alone. Electoral politics always runs into the limits created by the bureaucracy, the courts, the police and the media, all of whom will be opposing AAP particularly strongly. Hence, when AAP runs into these limits, non-electoral organisations and struggles will be as important as ever. Some Final Thoughts There is no doubt that the rise of AAP represents a significant opportunity to defeat the massive right wing assault on justice and democracy in this country, and that the party has opened a political space that no one else has been able to create. Rejection of this party would hence be a serious mistake. However, major political decisions such as joining this party cannot be taken only on the basis of what is occurring now - it is necessary to consider what will happen in the long run. We request comrades to consider these points before taking decisions on their approach to AAP.
Posted on: Wed, 02 Apr 2014 16:46:37 +0000
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