Wearing white caps and armed with brooms, volunteers of India’s fledgling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), or the common man’s party, are out in strength across the Indian capital. The broom is an election symbol and they are campaigning for their first election on a promise to sweep out corruption and make government more participatory.
Delhi state assembly elections will be held on December 4 and some opinion polls predict the fledgling party, born barely a year ago out of an anti-corruption campaign, can make a mark. Polls give AAP a chance of winning 5 to 25 seats in the 70-member assembly, eating into the votes of the incumbent Indian National Congress Party and its main rival the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“It’s a historic opportunity,” said Arvind Kejriwal, a founder of AAP. “It’s not our election, it’s the people’s election. They want a change and now they have a clean party to vote for.” Kejriwal, a tax official turned social activist, who led a popular campaign to pressure parliament for anti-corruption legislation, says he and the party’s other former activists were forced into politics. “We tried everything from outside, the pressure did not work. Now we want to see if we can change things from within the political arena.” When the party began campaigning earlier this year, it had to start from scratch. It is also fighting the elections on a budget of 200 million rupees (about 3.2 million dollars), a fraction of the estimated war chest of the two main parties.
“All the money has come from donations from supporters, a large part of it from non-resident Indians,” said Prithvi Reddy, a member of the executive committee. “Whether they win or not, the way they are fighting elections and the response they are getting has fantastic psychological impact,” said Ashish Nundy, a New Delhi-based social scientist. Corruption is endemic in India and neither of the two main national parties have managed to solve the problem.
“There was a demand and the AAP is a response,” Nundy said. There is a buzz at party headquarters in a ramshackle three-storey building lent by a supporter in the heart of Delhi. Auto rickshaws arrive with brooms and fresh supplies of white hats with the slogans “Mei aam aadmi hu” (I am a common man) and “mujhe chahiye swaraj” (I want self-rule).
Shalini Gupta is an organization development consultant based in Chicago who has been in Delhi for two weeks volunteering for the AAP. “It’s a chance to change how things work in the country. A last hope,” Gupta said. Rajen Makhijani works with an international consultancy in Singapore and has taken leave to help out. “I have a 4-year-old daughter. This is a chance to change things so she has a better future. What would I tell her later … that I was attending corporate meetings, holidaying in Bali while history was being made?”
Among those offering support are taxi and auto rickshaw drivers associations, people who are fed up with harassment by local police and officials. The party promises cheaper water and electricity, women’s security and local public meetings to decide policy issues. “We’ve seen the Congress and the BJP, this is a new party with a clean slate and honest people as leaders, let’s try them out,” said Sumita Dasgupta, a Delhi-based editor. “I like them, but I don’t want to waste my vote, they can’t win,” said architect Harsh Trivedi.
The traditional political parties are dismissive. “The party is a media creation,” said Congress Party leader Kiran Walia. BJP’s Vijay Goel said the contest was between the two main parties. “AAP is not in the picture,” he said. The new party has also faced accusations of corruption itself, after a news portal unveiled the video of an alleged sting operation showing AAP candidates apparently agreeing to sell political influence for cash donations to the party.
The AAP has claimed the videos were doctored and sued the broadcaster for defamation.
It is not clear whether the movement could eventually make an impact on national politics. Delhi is concentrated, urban and more cohesive, said political scientist RK Dutta. “AAP may well end up being a one-election phenomenon.” The results of the Delhi elections are due on December 8.
Sunrita Sen, "New political party vows to clean up Delhi government," Business recorder. 2013-12-05.Keywords: Political science , Political issues , Political leaders , Political system , Elections , Political parties , Delhi , India , RK Dutt , BJP , AAP