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Indian Express
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Much need not be read into recent defections from AAP. Every political party goes through such churn
Written by Saumya Gupta On May 17, as many as 13 MCD Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillors left the party to start a new organisation: Indraprastha Vikas Party (IVP). This political blow comes right in the wake of AAP's defeat in the Delhi assembly elections. This again raised a crucial question: Is AAP a post-ideological party? Many scholars attribute its defeat and defection to the absence of ideology. However, one must go beyond such a limited understanding to unpack AAP's politics. My argument here rests primarily on three ideas that shape its politics. First, its commitment to Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP); second, the party stands for welfare, rooted not in the structural inequalities; and finally, the party attempts to be principally against any form of political violence. The provision of DPSP in the Indian Constitution reflects socialist, Gandhian, and liberal ideals, guiding the vision of a just, welfare-oriented state. AAP's governance, as evidenced in its mohalla clinics, legal aid drives, public schooling, and free bus services for women, embodies these principles. Critics argue this focus on efficient public service lacks ideological depth. Yet, when viewed through the DPSP lens, AAP's model aligns with a form of 'actionable ideology' rooted in addressing material needs. Its politics of citizen-centric delivery gained popular support, though some feared it would become merely transactional. Its weakness lies not in the absence of ideology, but in the lack of a language that could articulate it. Drawing from Antoine Destutt de Tracy's notion of ideology as a 'science of ideas' tied to material conditions, AAP's actions can be seen as ideological. Since coming to power in Delhi, AAP has focused exceedingly on economics and public finance. However, a lack of a deeper understanding of structural inequalities in India, predominantly caste, has been a consistent lack in its politics. Arvind Kejriwal's emphasis on state efficiency was a recalibration of politics, implying that administrative push is enough to fight inequality, without resorting to caste politics or social engineering. AAP achieved 'national party' status in the shortest time. Notably, it is also one of the very few national parties without any history of political violence. It breached the conventional political space of identity-based, caste/class-based or regional rhetoric-based politics and found a new space to redefine conventional understandings. Scholars like Sacha Kapoor and Arvind Magesan have stated that if there is a regional party rule, the chance of political violence increases. This argument, however, doesn't hold for AAP, which started its journey through satyagraha and has remained aligned with Gandhian philosophy, at least on the question of violence. Kejriwal's rise reshaped opposition politics in India, pushing traditional left-of-centre parties to reassess their approaches in light of AAP's tangible public service delivery. While critics accused him of 'soft Hindutva', his appeal lies in effective governance and bold political manoeuvres. His instincts for timely political action have made his political performance different from that of other political parties. Defeats and defections are part of the political game. So, discarding it as a non-ideological party amounts to a misreading of its political trajectory. The writer is a political consultant who was earlier with Centre for Legislative Research and Education, FLAME University
Time of India
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
AAP struggling to stem discontent, Kejriwal's focus is Punjab
New Delhi: The desertion by 15 of AAP councillors has trained the spotlight on the issue being debated in party circles as to the loss of power in Delhi has left the once-formidable Arvind Kejriwal-led outfit struggling to stem discontent in its ranks and keep the flock together. Since the Delhi results, AAP supremo and former Delhi CM Kejriwal has largely stayed away from the limelight in the capital, while leader of opposition Atishi and Delhi AAP convenor Saurabh Bharadwaj are mostly steering the party's charge against the governing dispensation, BJP, to try and play the role of an effective opposition in the assembly and outside. Though Kejriwal has been on and off putting out social media posts on issues affecting Delhi, his direct engagements in the capital have mainly included a motivational interaction with sitting and former AAP MLAs after the Delhi elections and a show of strength at the party's headquarters on March 23 to mark 'Shaheedi Diwas' to pay homage to martyrs Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, and Sukhdev where he addressed all senior leaders, MLAs, councillors and workers. Kejriwal is mostly seen focusing on Punjab and the party's plans to strengthen its organisation in other states like Gujarat. On Saturday too, Kejriwal, while addressing a public meeting in Punjab, highlighted how the CM Bhagwant Mann-led govt was fighting the drug menace with all its might and addressing other concerns. Punjab, which goes to polls early 2027, is the only state where AAP is in office. Meanwhile, Delhi buzzed with the story of the AAP-BJP tussle in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). The corporation has always been at the core of Delhi electoral battles with ward councillors often holding the key to bigger wins in assembly and parliamentary polls. The latest resignation of 15 councillors, who have formed an outfit Indraprastha Vikas Party, is, hence, bad news for AAP — the party had won 134 out of the 250 wards in 2022 municipal polls but resignations since that year and those on Saturday has brought its number down to 98 in the MCD House. BJP members in the House have increased from 104 to 117. The councillors who resigned cited stalled development work and growing discontent for taking the step. As they announced the formation of Indraprastha Vikas Party, AAP, in a statement, alleged that BJP was behind the resignations and has been "indulging in horsetrading since the mayoral elections". Though there was no statement from Kejriwal on the issue till the time of the report going to the press, AAP chief spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar articulated the party's official position, saying it was "BJP's calculated and corrupt campaign to engineer the defection of the AAP councillors". Mukesh Goel, a former Congress councillor who switched to AAP ahead of the 2022 polls, will be heading this new party. In his statements to the media on justifying the decision to resign from AAP, Goel alleged that since the municipal polls no development work has been carried out and that AAP was too busy with internal conflicts and blamegames. These resignations also brings into focus another concern of how AAP had over the years embraced politicians from all sides who flocked to it because it was governing the capital. But with the defeat in the assembly polls, the glue that held them together is missing. Meanwhile, with AAP's reduced strength in the MCD and the fight with BJP only set to get bitter, the way forward is clearly not going to be easy as and the challenge of stemming unrest to prevent more councillors from leaving is even more grave now. With the next municipal polls scheduled for the end of 2027, these two years will be crucial for AAP to put its house in order.
