By Anuj Sabharwal
Yesterday was a tough and a hot day for Aam Aadmi Party as its two key leaders, Shazia Ilmi and Captain Gopinath resigned from the party. Shazia Ilmi said that though she was one of the founder members, she found it difficult to meet Kejriwal who was always surrounded by clique of people. She said, There is no internal democracy in AAP, which stands for Swaraj. People are fed up of protests, jail politics and I have been raising my voice against party decisions for a couple of months now. She further added that the party needs to Introspect. The other setback was the quitting of former head of low cost airliner Air Deccan, Captain Gopinath who was the high-profile name from the corporate world in AAP. Gopinath told CNN-IBN that he had differences with the way the party functioned and Kejriwals decision not to furnish a bail bond in the defamation case against him by Gadkari sealed his decision.
We need to review the rise and fall of AAP and how quickly the Delhi voters shunned AAP, and its leaders stepped back. 413 of its members could not save their deposits in general elections of 2014. Delhi, which they consider as their stronghold, gave them drubbing of 7-0. Anti-corruption crusader Kejriwal had shaken up Indias political landscape with promises to change the rugged and rotten system. The former tax collector made a stunning debut in the Delhi legislative elections in December, 2013.
The first sign of disagreement reflected when AAP decided to form a government with the help of the Congress, who AAP criticized most. They called Congress the most corrupt party ever and yet shook hands with them to form a government. Kejriwal took a U-turn and never initiated an action against Sheila Dixit, ex-Chief Minister of Delhi. We need to remember that he filed an FIR against her with Baba Ramdev during India Against Corruption times. In fact, he embarassed his supporters by asking for proof of corruption against Sheila Dixit from BJP leader, Dr Harshvardhan. In this era of Whatsapp, Facebook and Twitter, the youth was quick to see the real face of AAP. The inexperience and lack of seasoned politicians led to near stampede in his Secretariat meeting with out of control crowd. Their law minister Somnath Bharti led a night raid provoking criticism and irk of the Women Commission. The incident was totally unnecessary and required sensible handling. With a base in Delhi, the AAPs anti-corruption platform, coupled with promises of free water and cheaper electricity, repelled voters as they had very few realistic economic policies. Kejriwal faced further humiliation at the hands of the ex-Delhi Police Commissioner, who criticized him at the India Today Conclave, which was broadcasted live all over. Nevertheless, the wave or Tsunami of Narendra Modi also uprooted AAP and the Congress-led UPA. However, AAP can be given credit for taking politics in the drawing room of a common man who did introspect and showed AAP the door. The ray of AAPs hope, Kejriwal is lying in the dark cell and as Shazia Ilmi rightly said, Kejriwal should be with the cadres. He should go and meet every AAP leader of states like Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra etc. However, she has also said that she hasnt closed the door on the party completely and said that if the party gives her a more relevant role, she could consider coming back. I just hope this is not any other publicity stunt of AAP leader Shazia and she may follow the footprints of Kejriwal and takes U-Turn.
Writer by passion, self employed and views are personal. Hates women abusers, loves art, music, tweets on politics and dreams of better society. Can be contacted on anujsabharwal3@gmail.com