Why I will Support Arvind Kejriwal in the Next Delhi Elections?
I am giving below 10 reasons why I will support Arvind Kejariwal's Aaam Admi Party in the coming elections in Delhi.
1. I believe Congress and Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) are both sides of a coin and they are firmly footed in the vote bank politics. Whereas, AAP, though lacks experience in governance, is willing to experiment, without much looking into the outcome. Them abdicating the power in Delhi last time, is a political experiment. Opinions may vary whether that had misfired on them. In any experiment, there can be good and bad results and one has to take them in the right stride.
2. All major political parties have developed vested interest in continuing with the system and they have to carry on with them the stakeholders since the money for fighting elections are largely coming from them. Every contribution to them has a string attached to it. They cannot wriggle out of it, however hard they might try. Whereas, AAP being a recent political formation can innovate the funding patterns. They have been organizing dinners, get-together, membership drives, contributions from like -minded people etc., which add up to their kitty. If there is any minor aberrations, I am willing to tolerate them.
3. Mainline parties are surviving on media patronage to a large extent. Media is owned by industrialists and independence in reporting is a long forgone doctrine in India. Of course, media change the stand depending on which side of the toast is buttered. We can see it every day in newspaper columns how they hawk the their own agenda. AAP being a new party and has shown the courage to ignore media to a great extent. I believe that it is a good augury.
4. Political parties are subordinated to business interests because of the heavy contributions they have made to all important political parties. We know how the bureaucrats, politicians and business curry favor among themselves. Whatever exhortations they make in public are meaningless since businesses know hot to call their shots at critical times. Their lobbying techniques are far more effective and long lasting. AAP has shown courage to take on some of the large corporations and to expose their omissions and commissions. I believe that they will continue to do the same by bringing them under the purview of strict surveillance on wrong things they are doing.
5. My experience is that major political parties make more promises and fail miserably in delivery. Though AAP was in rule only for 49 days in Delhi, they had implemented some of the reforms that had promised in manifesto without any fear or prejudice, particularly in areas like electricity tariff, water charges, eradication of corruption etc. For instance, a national daily had conducted a survey immediately after AAP came into power in Delhi and found that some of the most corrupt departments like Transport division, DDA etc. had shown remarkable progress in containing corruption.
6. AAP had promised to contain the inflation particularly of food articles and they were contemplating many steps like allowing farmers selling products directly to consumers etc. But such schemes have been put in the cold storage. There is an all round increase in prices of all food items in Delhi, despite the claim by the government that both wholesale and retail prices have cooled down. They are hiding the fact from the public that the percentage changes are mostly because of the base effect. Prices of medicines also have soared high.
7. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. BJP is in power at Center and in more than 10 states. There should be checks and balances for any political party or affilaitions, lest it would go berserk with power.
8. India needs change in power structure, equations and in articulating its growth strategies. Political parties, which were ruling for so many years have lost the appetite to create new structures. By giving AAP a chance to rule Delhi, we are enabling them to carry out their experiment in a microcosm to be superimposed on a wider canvas later.
9. AAP is a party of youngsters and most of its party members are ordinary people, who have been left out to the fringes by the successive ruling parties. Giving voice to those who have been left out will be the right risk cover against massive agitations as are happening in other parts of the world.
10. Finally, I believe that AAP is secular in the true sense. That does not mean that its followers should become irreligious. What they have to believe is that faith is a private affair and at the macro level we are all proud Indians, irrespective of the religions that we have born into. Polarization in terms of religion is the greatest harm that we can do this country.
