Pehle AAP culture: is it changing Indian politics?

There is a hung assembly in Delhi, and unlike usual, this time political parties namely—BJP, Congress and AAP—have all decided to abstain from getting involved in defection and horse trading to form the new government.

Especially BJP and Congress have long been involved in forming deals with other party MLAs to gather numbers to form governments. However this time the difference seems to be the Aam Aadmi Party.

While Congress and BJP have blamed AAP of shirking off responsibility, AAP has clearly stated that it won’t form a minority government since it goes against their principle to form a government that won’t have the legislative powers to implement their manifesto based on which they have won votes.

Congress MP Mani Shankar Aiyyar today during a debate on CNN-IBN said, “They are acting like an NGO and running away from responsibility.”

However, AAP member Yogendra Yadav, who was also present on the show said, “It has been 48 hours since results came. To my knowledge the Lieutenant Governor has not even invited the leading party which is the BJP. But somehow in TV studios it is being projected we have decided chosen to run away.

“While we have a political breakthrough, we do not have majority, we do not have the numbers need to form government,” he said.

Emphasising his point of not having enough number and why AAP does not want a minority government, Yadav said, “We have to remember this whole party was formed because of the issue over Jan Lok Pal Bill. If we cannot have the legislative power to pass that bill in Delhi, we cannot form a government since we got votes based on what we promised.”

Meanwhile Yadav also said there seemed to be a sort of jugalbandi between the Congress and the BJP since both the parties think that AAP should form the government.

To such a comment, BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi said, “The jugalbandi is between Congress and AAP, the shoulders on which AAP has won.”

Lekhi said that the BJP was not planning to go for horse trading. “Yadav cannot sit and blame A party or B party for not forming government and not play the game himself. They should show what they are upto, and how they are going to work,” she said.

Aiyyar too denied any sort of deal with the BJP. “I loath at the BJP. I have nothing to do with BJP. If Yadav thinks the Congress will join hands with the BJP, then it is his ahankaar (pride) speaking,” he said.

“If you don’t have power you cannot effect change. It is an essential means to get your agenda implemented,” he advised Yadav.

Meanwhile Vinod Mehta praised AAP for changing the way politics works in India. “This is the first cleansing effect of the AAP. On the counting day Harsh Vardhan with great dignity announced that he didn’t have the numbers, so he will not form government. The two main parties are scared of the example the AAP has set and fear they may have to follow suit,” he said.

“The problem with the Indian democracy is that we think politics is about power, but that’s not true. The two parties are jittery not because AAP has won so many seats, but they want AAP to become one of them. AAP sets an example they cannot follow,” Mehta said.

JP Narayan of Lok Satta while saying that AAP’s politics is not politics and also said that what AAP is doing will change the way Indian democracy works.

“AAP politics is still anti-political politics, because at the end of the day politics is power to do public good. It is not fair to accuse AAP for not forming government. We should encourage them,” Narayan said.

He later in the show said, “We have to change the politics of India. Congress and BJP has messed up India in the quest for power. AAP is the public response to that. AAP will clean it but that won’t happen over night. But, we are on the right path.”

Also Yadav made it clear that AAP would not, at any cost, be a part of give and take politics, “We are interested in governance only and only if we can implement our manifesto on which we got votes,” he said.