AAP-effect: Will the 'one vote, one note' strategy work for BJP?

When did we last hear about the “one vote, one note” electioneering strategy that the BJP announced on Wednesday? The party general secretary Ananth Kumar would want us to believe that it was during Jaiprakash Narayan’s time. But the truth is that it was as recent as 2008, in Andhra Pradesh, when a TDP candidate used the slogan because self-admittedly, he didn’t have enough money to contest the election. The candidate, L Ramana, also wanted to tell the people of his constituency in Karimnagar that if he took money from them, he would be accountable. “You donate Re 1 and cast your valuable vote for me, so that I will be accountable to you and strive for the development of the constituency,” he had reportedly said. Now we hear the same slogan from the BJP. Apparently, the motive is to directly reach out to people - that too a 100 million - and also to get into a people-driven resource mobilisation. The immediate comparison of this newfound affinity for people was with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) because they got their money from ordinary people and they campaigned door-to-door to their victory in Delhi. Most of the the 10 crore electorate that the BJP wants to target are the new voters, added during the last five years. For some reason, the party thinks that the new generation of voters don’t like the Congress and if the BJP can individually reach out to them, it will get their votes. On the other hand, Rahul Gandhi also swears by the new generation and said that there were lessons to be learned from the AAP. Reportedly, he too wants to overhaul the party’s candidate selection process so that it can field a lot of young people who will appeal to the young electorate. However, the BJP and the Congress will never admit that they are inspired by the unconventional techniques of the AAP, while clearly plagiarising their ideas. The “one vote one note” campaign in fact is nothing but an indirect imitation of AAP’s unique model of crowd-funding and decentralised approach to everything they do. While it’s indeed gladdening that political parties are trying to imitate the ways of a new party that convincingly swears by transparency and commitment to people, what’s unmissable is that the changes both the BJP and Congress are attempting are cosmetic and short term - just to win a crucial election. AAP is not just about crowd-funding and door-to-door campaigning; its genetics itself is completely different from that of the established political parties. It’s not these strategies that won them the elections, but their character and promise. Look at their candidates who won, and now, the cabinet. It’s unprecedented in Indian politics. AAP’s mobilisation of people and resources, and poll strategies were about selling a good product. Does the BJP (and the Congress) have a similar product, that will not only promise, but also inspire people to dream and trust? What the BJP and the Congress are attempting is imitating the externalities of the AAP that they think seemed to have worked. Have they thought about the product? - their people, past history, promises and candidates? Can they go back in history and correct their past deeds? Forget about the past, can they change at least their future? Can they ensure that politicians who are perceived to be corrupt are not given tickets, and can they ensure that criminals, corporates and moneybags are kept out? If the BJP is now resorting to crowd-funding, will it stop receiving funds from doubtful sources and corporates?; and will it give back the money that it took from such sources? In terms of its attempt to reach people door-to-door, it should not be just to seek votes, but also to enrol clean and new blood into the party. [caption id=“attachment_130780” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Reuters[/caption] As our “one vote one note” champion L Ramana woefully learned in Andhra Pradesh, content is more important than form. After 1998, he has never won a single election although he continued to be successful in mobilising people at the grassroots. By changing the appearance, nothing changes in the minds of the Indian electorate because they have seen many elections. What the BJP and the Congress see in the AAP success is only the active ingredient of the latter’s strategy. What they don’t realise is that this strategy is part of the party’s character itself. AAP is a package. Copying a part of that is not only foolish, but also is pure arrogance - that people are idiots. Moreover, the AAP was successful in inspiring hope, which they realise is a potent weapon against hopelessness. Nobody seems to clearly know the demography of their voters. It’s not just the youth, but also the slum dwellers, dalits, the minorities, the middle class and even the elite who had been forced to live in hopelessness. If they BJP and the Congress want to really change and prevent themselves from being threatened by AAP-type movements, this should be their point of departure - inspire hope among the hopeless. Otherwise, like L Ramana, they will be holding to an old product with new gimmicks.