Thought for the day
“I'm Mickey Mouse. They don't know who's inside the suit.”
-Keanu Reeves (Canadian, 1964 - )
Word for the day
Inchoation (n)
A beginning; origin
(Source: Dictionary.com)
Teaser for the day
Populism is mostly irretrievable. You always start by
helping people and then it becomes their right.
Twist
in stomach
“Politics the study of ideal social organization (it is
not, as one ·might suppose, the 'art and science of capturing and keeping
office); monarchy, aristocracy, democracy, socialism, anarchism, feminism -
these are the dramatis personae of political philosophy. —Story of Philosophy
by Will Durant
Of late Arvind Kejariwal led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has been
causing twist in stomach of most opponents. Congress and BJP which are usually
the target of AAP leadership’s gastritis comments and have actually suffered in
Delhi election naturally appear more at pain. Though they are maintaining a
brave face and mostly dismissive demeanor, their backroom strategists must be
working overtime to find ways and means to contain the ‘damage’.
Given that Congress Party in any way is on the back foot and not
a favorite to win next elections, BJP is the one which has most at stake. Most
regional parties still appear unsure as to how AAP phenomenon will impact their
fortunes in times to come.
Only CPM has shown some interest in joining ranks with AAP,
which is natural given (a) predominantly Maoist tendencies of AAP and (b)
emergence of Arvind Kejariwal as challenger to Narendra Modi.
The financial markets which had almost assumed a Modi led
progressive government at helm post May election results, are also having a
rethink.
Twenty five to thirty Lok Sabha seats for AAP could upset many
calculations, especially for BJP. Given the internal conflicts of Congress
Party, it will only be too glad to repeat the Delhi experiment at national
level just to keep BJP out of contention.
In my view, there is nothing “marvelous” (“Adbhut” as Mr.
Kejariwal likes to put it) in the events that have taken place in Delhi in past
couple of month. The changes that are taking place in political landscape of
the country are normal evolutionary changes. There is nothing to suggest that
these changes could assume revolutionary character.
I feel, the emergence of AAP should be seen as further
advancement of the forces of social justice and equality – a process that began
with Naxalite movement in 1960’s, gathered momentum with Jaiprakash Narain’s
call for Total Revolution, took a leap with constitution of a National
Front under N. T. Rama Rao and progressed with emergence of BSP as voice of
Dalits.
Mahatama Gandhi’s vision for building a just and equal society
(Ram Rajaya) that in fact formed the conceptual basis of our constitution had
been an inspiring force behind many of these movements.
AAP is in its nascent stage of building up. Despite its
popularity and high TRP value, it is far from becoming a mass movement of
people seeking a change. Indubitably the electoral success of AAP and the
response it is getting from middle classes strengthens the confidence in Indian
democratic traditions and raises hopes of a brighter future. However, the
euphoria and sense of sacrifice that is usually needed for such movement to
have desired impact is not yet visible. Few plateaued professionals and
businessmen joining AAP to make a career in “electoral politics” means little.
In next few days, I shall highlight what AAP could potentially
mean for Indian politics & economics and why we are nowhere close to a
revolution.
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