“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” – Mahatma Gandhi
A new year has just begun. We’ve, hopefully, much to look forward to. Much good awaits. And as is natural, so does the opposite but, be that as it may, it may surely be a bad year for the age old party of India – the Indian National Congress or INC.
The biggest victim of political revolution, it seems Congress has more drubbing down the road. It’s possibly starring at its worst electoral performance since its inception. And what makes it worse? Being routed by an amateur party filled with activists and (as they call it) impractical idealists.
But, it’s not just the Congress that’s all worried. BJP or the saffron camp as it is sometimes called, is in disarray too. Many reports have suggested that it’s expecting a dent in its electoral performance, which may be why it’s trying so hard to build a pan-India image for its Prime Ministerial candidate- Shri Narendra Modi and it wouldn’t be too much to say has not spared any means in order to achieve that.
The cause of all this jittery is a one year old party led by activist-turned-politician Shri Arvind Kejriwal. Aam Aadmi Party (or as it is fondly called: AAP) is a seed sown by the rampant corruption currently flourishing in our system and nurtured by political discontent among the masses – particularly the youth.
As AAP captured seats in Delhi, preventing the saffron camp from winning and routing out the Congress, it sent the mainstream political parties on a road of introspection. One thing was obvious, a new political alternative was making itself felt and the pandemonium it caused was too powerful to be ignored – making those politicos that initially opposed it follow the same path. As a result of this, a bill that was stuck for more than four decades was passed unopposed – albeit diluted and politicians who insisted on security were seen giving it up.
Taking a high moral ground, and ruthlessly criticizing both the Congress and BJP, AAP is seen by many as the political messiah of India. True to that, it has also done much of what was expected of it but a lot remains to be done as well. As many say, Kejriwal went back on his words on not accepting any support from either Congress or BJP. (He technically didn’t since it’s a minority government but then technicalities do not appeal to the Aam Aadmi of our country!)
It is said “In politics anything can happen within a short period of time.”
The run up to the Lok Sabha elections of this year will reveal much about AAP. It may triumph if it succeeds in keeping in promises but it may equally be doomed if it doesn’t. Either way, one thing is agreeable, and is accepted widely: AAP has ushered in a new paradigm to Indian politics in the year 2014.
About the author: An average Indian with too many dreams and too less efforts who loves reading and writing.
Edited by: Vyom Agarwal
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