Mahesh Kumar
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal has surprised everyone by resigning from his post as chief minister of Delhi. The move has created a stir in the political circles and has brought Delhi into election mode. The Delhi Assembly elections are scheduled for February 2025, so the question arises: why did Kejriwal choose to resign just months before the election?
The Congress has welcomed his resignation but has said that he should have resigned at the time of going to jail and called resignation a “gimmick”. Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) has said that this political stunt and he had no choice but to resign. Kejriwal has said that he will not sit on the CM's chair until "people give their verdict." Some reasons behind the resignation in the light of Kejriwal's resignation announcement, it is necessary to find out the reasons / factors due to which he was forced to take this decision. For this, there is a need to look at the history of AAP. The AAP emerged out of the anti-corruption movement of 2011-12, which was fought under the banner of India Against Corruption. The movement was run under the leadership of Anna Hazare and Kejriwal and finally Kejriwal's team reached at the conclusion that the system cannot be improved without entering in to the politics and as a result the AAP formed.
Anna Hazare distanced himself from this decision of Kejriwal. After the formation of the AAP, Kejriwal declared that all the political parties of the country are involved in corruption and the newly formed AAP is an alternative to all the corrupt political parties and they will uproot corruption from the country. As a result, the AAP defeated the ruling Congress and opposition BJP and gained power in Delhi. Similarly, they benefited from the split in Congress and the rift in the BJP-Akali alliance in Punjab and the AAP came to formed the government in Punjab. Due to the votes received in Punjab, Delhi and Gujarat, the AAP became another national party of the country in a short time period. But one thing that the AAP has understood is that today it is forced to form an alliance with all those parties which it once used to call the kingpins of corruption, especially the Congress Party. That is also after central security agencies at the behest of Modi government picked up Kejriwal and its leaders in liquor scam, the AAP learned some lessons of politics. Because in politics it is necessary to decide who is your biggest political enemy. And the result of this is today is everyone to see that the AAP is a part of the country's broad political platform India Alliance.
However, any kind of alliance with the Congress is impossible in the assembly elections of Delhi and Haryana because the Congress is the contender for power in Haryana and the AAP is the contender for power in Delhi, so both of them would not want to form an alliance with each other in their states. This is the reason why the AAP-Congress alliance could not be formed in Haryana.
Reasons for AAP's success
After coming to power, the AAP has definitely done some good work due to which the people of Delhi have got lot of relief and due to which the support of the AAP kept increasing. Which included decisions like cheap electricity, water, improvement in school education, free medicines in hospitals, free travel for women in DTC buses. But despite all this, the AAP could not win a single seat in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Despite having an alliance with the Congress in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, neither the congress nor the AAP could win a single seat in Delhi. In Punjab, it could win only three out of 13 seats. In the Delhi Municipal Corporation elections, the party got 134 seats out of 250, but the difference in vote percentage between the BJP and the AAP was only 3 percent. Although the vote percentage increased in the Lok Sabha elections, but not getting a single seat was not a pleasant thing for the AAP party.
Excise Policy 2021-2022
Due to the change in the excise policy of Delhi, Kejriwal and the AAP have suffered the biggest blow. The imprisonment of more than half a dozen party leaders including Kejriwal in corruption cases has not proved to be a good thing for the image of the party. The changes brought in the Delhi Excise Policy in 2021-2022 have caused the biggest setback for Kejriwal and the AAP. However, no one is averse to the fact that if any scam has taken place under the Excise Policy, then it should be investigated impartially and the culprits should be sent behind bars. But the political bias with which the security agencies are being used to suppress the opposition leaders brings the investigation under suspicion. The way the chief minister of Delhi and senior ministers were put in jail, seems less like an investigation of the liquor scam and more like political bias.
Confrontation between the Lieutenant Governor and the Modi government
Since the AAP came to power, tensions between the Modi government and the Lieutenant Governor started. Due to this strained relationship, there have been frequent clashes between them on many issues. Excise policy, training of teachers in Finland, free yoga classes, Mohalla clinics, transfer of bureaucrats, sanction of funds, control over the Anti-Corruption Branch and extension of power subsidy to consumers are some of the issues on which the Lieutenant Governor has been at loggerheads with the Delhi Government. As a result, in October last year, the Delhi government shut down the "Yogshala of Delhi" scheme, claiming that the LG had not given it the green signal. It also alleged that the Finance Department did not sanction funds for payment of electricity bills, rent, lab tests and salaries of doctors of Mohalla clinics at the behest of the LG. The list of these conflicts is quite long. This conflict, which started in 2013, is not stopping till date. A question also arises that, kind of treatment a democratically elected government is getting is a violation of the Constitution. The common people of Delhi have suffered the brunt of this. This conflict also proved that the Modi government does not want to let any opposition party run the government. Such conflicts have been seen with other governments such as Kerala, Tamil Nadu and other states. Due to this conflict, many schemes of the Delhi government are hanging in the balance.
The current crisis of Aam Aadmi Party
Due to all this, the AAP started to feel that in the coming days, its political influence on the common people is likely to reduce. The biggest confirmation of this was seen in the recently held Lok Sabha elections when the AAP-Congress alliance could not win a single seat. This is despite the fact that Kejriwal was granted bail by the court to campaign in the elections. The biggest thing that is bothering the AAP is that its top leaders have gone to jail in corruption cases or are still in jails. Therefore, looking at the continuous defeat in the Lok Sabha elections and the campaign of the Modi government against the party, it is working somewhere that it will be difficult to fight this without going among the people and creating public opinion in favor of the AAP again.
Political lesson
Somewhere the AAP also needs to learn this political lesson that corruption is an issue which is built in country’s system, which is direct result of those economic policies which the Modi government and most of the state governments are adopting. The Kejriwal government itself has been in favour of privatisation and has not been able to reverse it in government departments. Due to which the youth of Delhi have very few opportunities for government jobs. The condition of workers is very bad. Workers working in factories do not even get the declared minimum wage. The unemployed youth of Delhi are forced to work on a salary of Rs 8 to 10,000. The Kejriwal government has not taken any step towards this. A large number of workers working in Delhi city come from the Dalit sections. Therefore, there is a need to make special provisions for them so that the entire working class will benefit and the political base of the AAP will be strengthened.
Therefore, it is the need of the hour that the AAP presents se set of alternative policies. In which, not only talk of running a campaign against neo-liberal policies but also mention of those alternative policies which talk about strengthening public sector institutions by ending corporate loot. Policies which talk about finding a solution to the severe unemployment in the country. Which talks about taking the poor people and the common people forward on the economic and social level.
The writer is an independent journalist. The views are personal.
The Congress has welcomed his resignation but has said that he should have resigned at the time of going to jail and called resignation a “gimmick”. Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) has said that this political stunt and he had no choice but to resign. Kejriwal has said that he will not sit on the CM's chair until "people give their verdict." Some reasons behind the resignation in the light of Kejriwal's resignation announcement, it is necessary to find out the reasons / factors due to which he was forced to take this decision. For this, there is a need to look at the history of AAP. The AAP emerged out of the anti-corruption movement of 2011-12, which was fought under the banner of India Against Corruption. The movement was run under the leadership of Anna Hazare and Kejriwal and finally Kejriwal's team reached at the conclusion that the system cannot be improved without entering in to the politics and as a result the AAP formed.
Anna Hazare distanced himself from this decision of Kejriwal. After the formation of the AAP, Kejriwal declared that all the political parties of the country are involved in corruption and the newly formed AAP is an alternative to all the corrupt political parties and they will uproot corruption from the country. As a result, the AAP defeated the ruling Congress and opposition BJP and gained power in Delhi. Similarly, they benefited from the split in Congress and the rift in the BJP-Akali alliance in Punjab and the AAP came to formed the government in Punjab. Due to the votes received in Punjab, Delhi and Gujarat, the AAP became another national party of the country in a short time period. But one thing that the AAP has understood is that today it is forced to form an alliance with all those parties which it once used to call the kingpins of corruption, especially the Congress Party. That is also after central security agencies at the behest of Modi government picked up Kejriwal and its leaders in liquor scam, the AAP learned some lessons of politics. Because in politics it is necessary to decide who is your biggest political enemy. And the result of this is today is everyone to see that the AAP is a part of the country's broad political platform India Alliance.
However, any kind of alliance with the Congress is impossible in the assembly elections of Delhi and Haryana because the Congress is the contender for power in Haryana and the AAP is the contender for power in Delhi, so both of them would not want to form an alliance with each other in their states. This is the reason why the AAP-Congress alliance could not be formed in Haryana.
Reasons for AAP's success
After coming to power, the AAP has definitely done some good work due to which the people of Delhi have got lot of relief and due to which the support of the AAP kept increasing. Which included decisions like cheap electricity, water, improvement in school education, free medicines in hospitals, free travel for women in DTC buses. But despite all this, the AAP could not win a single seat in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Despite having an alliance with the Congress in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, neither the congress nor the AAP could win a single seat in Delhi. In Punjab, it could win only three out of 13 seats. In the Delhi Municipal Corporation elections, the party got 134 seats out of 250, but the difference in vote percentage between the BJP and the AAP was only 3 percent. Although the vote percentage increased in the Lok Sabha elections, but not getting a single seat was not a pleasant thing for the AAP party.
Excise Policy 2021-2022
Due to the change in the excise policy of Delhi, Kejriwal and the AAP have suffered the biggest blow. The imprisonment of more than half a dozen party leaders including Kejriwal in corruption cases has not proved to be a good thing for the image of the party. The changes brought in the Delhi Excise Policy in 2021-2022 have caused the biggest setback for Kejriwal and the AAP. However, no one is averse to the fact that if any scam has taken place under the Excise Policy, then it should be investigated impartially and the culprits should be sent behind bars. But the political bias with which the security agencies are being used to suppress the opposition leaders brings the investigation under suspicion. The way the chief minister of Delhi and senior ministers were put in jail, seems less like an investigation of the liquor scam and more like political bias.
Confrontation between the Lieutenant Governor and the Modi government
Since the AAP came to power, tensions between the Modi government and the Lieutenant Governor started. Due to this strained relationship, there have been frequent clashes between them on many issues. Excise policy, training of teachers in Finland, free yoga classes, Mohalla clinics, transfer of bureaucrats, sanction of funds, control over the Anti-Corruption Branch and extension of power subsidy to consumers are some of the issues on which the Lieutenant Governor has been at loggerheads with the Delhi Government. As a result, in October last year, the Delhi government shut down the "Yogshala of Delhi" scheme, claiming that the LG had not given it the green signal. It also alleged that the Finance Department did not sanction funds for payment of electricity bills, rent, lab tests and salaries of doctors of Mohalla clinics at the behest of the LG. The list of these conflicts is quite long. This conflict, which started in 2013, is not stopping till date. A question also arises that, kind of treatment a democratically elected government is getting is a violation of the Constitution. The common people of Delhi have suffered the brunt of this. This conflict also proved that the Modi government does not want to let any opposition party run the government. Such conflicts have been seen with other governments such as Kerala, Tamil Nadu and other states. Due to this conflict, many schemes of the Delhi government are hanging in the balance.
The current crisis of Aam Aadmi Party
Due to all this, the AAP started to feel that in the coming days, its political influence on the common people is likely to reduce. The biggest confirmation of this was seen in the recently held Lok Sabha elections when the AAP-Congress alliance could not win a single seat. This is despite the fact that Kejriwal was granted bail by the court to campaign in the elections. The biggest thing that is bothering the AAP is that its top leaders have gone to jail in corruption cases or are still in jails. Therefore, looking at the continuous defeat in the Lok Sabha elections and the campaign of the Modi government against the party, it is working somewhere that it will be difficult to fight this without going among the people and creating public opinion in favor of the AAP again.
Political lesson
Somewhere the AAP also needs to learn this political lesson that corruption is an issue which is built in country’s system, which is direct result of those economic policies which the Modi government and most of the state governments are adopting. The Kejriwal government itself has been in favour of privatisation and has not been able to reverse it in government departments. Due to which the youth of Delhi have very few opportunities for government jobs. The condition of workers is very bad. Workers working in factories do not even get the declared minimum wage. The unemployed youth of Delhi are forced to work on a salary of Rs 8 to 10,000. The Kejriwal government has not taken any step towards this. A large number of workers working in Delhi city come from the Dalit sections. Therefore, there is a need to make special provisions for them so that the entire working class will benefit and the political base of the AAP will be strengthened.
Therefore, it is the need of the hour that the AAP presents se set of alternative policies. In which, not only talk of running a campaign against neo-liberal policies but also mention of those alternative policies which talk about strengthening public sector institutions by ending corporate loot. Policies which talk about finding a solution to the severe unemployment in the country. Which talks about taking the poor people and the common people forward on the economic and social level.
The writer is an independent journalist. The views are personal.
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