It is the penultimate leg of the 2019 elections and the heat has moved on to the capital city, Delhi. The erstwhile stronghold and bastion of Congress, the emergence of AAP from the Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption movement ensured the decimation of Congress’ hegemony from the municipality to the state level. While AAP swept the assembly seats in 2015, BJP whitewashed all its opponents on the way to winning all 7 seats in the 2014 elections.
After 5 years, people of Delhi are being asked again to elect their representatives in the Parliament. They have something unique before them that has never been seen in any state in India at such an unprecedented level. AAP, in whom they chose to put their faith in the assembly elections has repaid them by creating new benchmarks in governance not only in India, but all over the world. I know this is election time and there are plenty of people out there who denounce AAP. I don’t mind being called an AAPtard for this article, but I believe in giving credit wherever it is due regardless of political affiliations.
Delhi is a quasi-state where the boundaries of governance between the state and the central governments are blurred. So the central government has always had maximum influence over state matters. All these dynamics changed when AAP positioned itself as an alternative to both the Congress and BJP in Delhi and trounced them both on the way to their scarcely believable victory in 2015 assembly elections. Arvind Kejriwal had set up a strategy team after his disastrous adventure into contesting 2014 general elections and they figured out the factors that were ailing Delhi the most. They recognized electricity and water as the most pressing problems of the people. Once they addressed both the issues, they stepped into governance and started from the roots.
Displaying exemplary wisdom, they chose education and health as their first milestones and with very good reasons. Because of vote bank political system prevalent in India, political parties have ensured that education is not available to all sections of people. They achieved this by keeping government schools in dilapidated condition. Private schools have always been for the privileged class. This ensures sustenance of a section of unskilled and unemployed people that can be used for political rallies and creating violence in the name of religion, caste and politics. Similarly, government hospitals across India have always been in substandard condition compared to private hospitals. With the focus on governance devoid of societal divides in the name of religion and caste and by developing government schools in Delhi to international standards and setting up Mohalla clinics, AAP has struck at the heart of the country’s political system.
Despite losing almost three years to political and bureaucratic hurdles thrown at them by the Modi government through the LG of Delhi, the AAP government set up strategies for the schools, Mohalla clinics, door to door delivery, etc. and approached the judiciary to reduce the interference of LG in Delhi’s governance. As soon as the verdict came in their favor, they went on overdrive to implement their strategies. The results are before everyone to see. This NDTV report clearly shows the transformation of the government schools and how they were brought about. Both the schools and Mohalla clinics have achieved international recognition with delegates from several countries visiting the schools to learn about the Happiness Curriculum and about the Mohalla clinics. The Happiness Curriculum has found so much traction in foreign countries that the Modi government, in its jealous frenzy went to the extent of denying Manish Sisodia the permission to travel to Austria to do a presentation on the topic.
Riding on these achievements, AAP has embarked on the ambitious plan to win all 7 Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 elections with a very clear agenda. The elusive statehood for Delhi which the Congress and BJP have been promising to the people during each election and AAP’s objective for the statehood is very clear. Double down on the influence of the central government on state governance and remove the office of the LG. Arvind Kejriwal has even claimed that 85% of government jobs in Delhi would be reserved for local Delhiites once full statehood is achieved. In this wide-ranging interview, he clearly explains about the proposed reservations in government jobs and colleges and how he has arrived at such a decision to meet the aspiration of Delhiites. He has also detailed about how Congress and BJP were simply asking for votes in the name of giving statehood to Delhi without having a definite plan which AAP has created. Listening to him speak so clearly on all matters makes me realize why the Congress and BJP despise him so much. In politics, it is prohibited to speak about anything with clarity because people will start understanding issues and pitfalls in governance and he is throwing the spanner into their political system.
Atishi Marlena, the heart and soul behind the government school revolution is obviously AAP’s poster girl. The support she has been receiving on social media from across the spectrum of the country has been unprecedented. Regardless of the derogatory and defamatory remarks hurled at her in the last two days, no candidate in this election is more deserving than her to step into the Parliament. Raghav Chaddha, another candidate who quit setting up a law firm in London and returned to India to join AAP has worked tirelessly for the people to earn the ticket which has been the case with the rest of the AAP candidates as well.
We need not look past the fact that there is only one political leader in the world who is educated in the best institution in his country, has the distinguished background of working with Mother Teresa and has been awarded the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay award for social service. When a social leader with such exemplary background enters the political arena and becomes the CM, he can be expected to do nothing other than work for the people. He has not allowed his reputation and the power he wields to affect his personality, behavior and even his attire and his team has followed him faithfully. Most importantly, by putting out the details of every donation AAP receives in the public domain and by asking AAP candidates to ask people for money to fight the elections, he has firmly made them accountable to the people and at the same time giving the power of votes to the people.
Winning all 7 seats in the elections would give AAP tremendous leverage in the Parliament and in a possible coalition government. There is no doubt that Delhi would progress tremendously in such a situation. Moreover, in case of a power tussle in the coalition, Arvind Kejriwal could possibly become a consensus candidate to be the PM, now that he has proved his mettle at governance and given the proximity and warm vibes he shares with all regional parties. Indian economy is in shambles after 5 years of devastation Modi has unleashed on the country. We need all the best minds to come together regardless of political affiliations to haul the country back on to the track of growth.
I don’t vote because I do not believe in voting for political leaders put up by the parties. They have no experience in social service and their allegiance is always towards their parties and their election funders. Only after the AAP governance started in Delhi has the country realized what real governance is and how other political parties have been fooling us in the name of governance. I am not a Delhiite and it is truly a shame that I am not at the place where the greatest transformation of governance in India is taking place and I am not able to vote for it.
I have just one message for all Delhiites. If you have experienced and understood AAP government’s impact on governance in Delhi and if it has made you believe that the party can make your future better, then its candidates deserve your votes. Be the change you want to see and vote not for politics and political parties but for governance and for your future. How you vote and how you are governed will have ripple effect on the entire country. Across every state, regardless of political hegemony, Delhi’s governance model will redefine how governments should work. The beacon for the great future of our country has to shine brightly from Delhi.
Lastly, AAP is asking for votes in the name of governance and the work they have done, Congress is asking for votes in the name of promises and BJP is asking for votes in the name of everything else except governance and they have nothing to show as work they have done. All it takes is commonsense to see through this. Remember that your votes are your investments for a better future. Choose wisely.