AAP, Now a National Party, Forging, Accepting Opposition Unity
Asia News Agency
In the efforts towards Opposition unity, the role of Kejriwal, chief minister Delhi and chief of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is important.
The emergence of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as a national party in just 10 years, writes Jasmine Shah (AAP leader) “is nothing short of a miracle in Indian politics. Born from the historic India Against Corruption movement in late 2012, there were few political observers who believed that AAP would survive beyond the first few years.
“Indeed, obituaries of AAP have been written (and continue to be written) every single year since its formation. Some mistakes were made, but AAP learned from them and grew stronger with every passing year…..”
Today, AAP is the youngest political party to traverse the journey of becoming a national political party in 10 years. AAP is also the youngest political party to form a majority government in two states — Delhi and Punjab — within its first 10 years and gain substantial vote shares, and win assembly seats in Gujarat and Goa.
In the process, writes the AAP supporter “many established political truisms were demolished. First, the success of AAP has proved that politics in India can be done without corruption. It has proved that political parties can fight and win elections without indulging in corruption and that they can govern successfully without looting the state treasury……
“Second, the success of AAP has shown that change is possible…Third, AAP has upset the most deeply entrenched status quo of Indian politics that uses communalism as the trump card to win elections…..”
AAP’s emergence as a national party, writes Jasmine Shah (AAP leader) “has changed the language of India’s governance and politics….”
AAP’s change of heart in forging Opposition Unity
At another level, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal is stridently anti-Modi. On March 28, he raised many eyebrows by alleging in the Delhi Assembly that industrialist Gautam Adani is merely a front for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ‘money actually belongs’ to Modi.
Nikhil M Babu (Correspondent at The Hindu) writes “Mr. Kejriwal’s relentless attacks against Mr. Modi over the past one and a half months show a change in the way he is dealing with his main political opponent…..” He has become more strident in his accusations about the prime minister.
“The way the AAP is dealing with the Congress too has changed. The party used to skip most of the Opposition meetings in the past, as they were hosted by the Congress. But it switched its strategy in the recently concluded Budget session of Parliament…” Recently, he “even extended support to Rahul Gandhi when the Congress leader was sentenced to two years in jail in a defamation case……
Last month, Kejriwal also accepted the existence of the ‘G-8’ — a group of eight non-BJP, non-Congress Chief Ministers . With his party being attacked from different sides, Babu states “the embattled AAP chief seems to have been forced to change his strategy of dealing with the Congress as well as revert to his old ways of carrying out all-out attacks against Mr. Modi.”
