Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) astounding victory by clinching 62 of 70 seats in Delhi’s state assembly has proven that routing out hatred is a piece of cake if performance and merit are taken into account rather than rhetoric and shallow point scoring. Delhi’s voters aren’t only smart but are well aware of the communal politics played by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
AAP’s hat trick in state elections is unsurprising given how the party under Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s leadership had transformed the National Capital Territory (NCT) over the last five years by focusing on basic needs of the public, providing affordable healthcare, public transport and electricity. Notably, his government’s aim to tackle climate change was also widely lauded when it launched the ‘odd-even’ scheme to limit car movements in the city.
On the other hand, the BJP’s deeply polarising campaign in the General Elections of 2019 failed to garner any substantial support in the state elections of 2020 since it was all about character assassination, fomenting violence and trying to marginalise minority groups.
Of course, the mass protests against CAA and NRC over the past several months had placed the party’s hierarchy in a tight spot since it was forced to mobilise key regional and national leaders to garner support. Not only this, police brutality in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and Jamia Millia Islamia was amongst the key catalytic factors in swinging the votes towards AAP.
Revocation of Articles 35A/370 in the unilaterally and illegally annexed territory of Jammu and Kashmir and enaction of draconian laws such as the Public Safety Act (PSA), 1978 in the volatile valley further exacerbated the situation since Delhi and its surrounding regions have a sizeable Kashmiri population.
Pertinently, the state’s Muslim population stands around 12% while the majority of its Hindu population also chose to support AAP.
However, AAP’s stunning victory had other factors in play as well-albeit on a minor scale. These included Kejriwal’s decision to recite religious hymns and his nationalistic stance on India’s security and foreign policies.
It has been reported that a key number of BJP supporters in the general elections chose to support AAP on state level. All thanks to Kejriwal’s fulfilment of the manifesto and nationalistic stance.
AAP is mainly a secular-oriented party that believes in delivering performance yet its decision to partially run a centrist campaign implies that politics is complicated. The BJP tried its best to label him and his party as ‘anti-nationals’ and even used derogatory terms for some of its Muslim leaders.
In such a hostile environment, Kejriwal was perhaps left with no other choice but to beat the BJP in its own game, as pointed out by several analysts such as Barkha Dutt.
India is fast becoming a polarised society with a wave of creeping fascism that vows to devour the country’s secular foundations. While state elections do have a key impact on policies, it is South Block which represents India on national and international level.
Unless fascism isn’t contained, the country will be heading towards complete anarchy for which only parties like the BJP would be held accountable. The people of India must introspect and make the right choice in choosing their leadership especially when draconian measures are the BJP’s hallmark these days.
In the context of Jammu and Kashmir crisis, those who bode well for the state must seek its citizens right to self-determination under UN mandate for the region’s best interests. Kejriwal may have a leaning towards the right when it comes to the valley, the least he can do is lobby with the central government to lift inhumane measures and get relief for some eight million imprisoned Kashmiris.
The Kejriwal wave in Delhi is meant to gain further momentum but AAP needs to become national now if it wishes to become a third force since the Congress Party won’t be able to recover from its losses for a prolonged period.
With the potential candidacy of Yogi Adityanath, a far-right politician leading Uttar Pradesh, as a prime ministerial candidate in 2024 elections, the time is now for secular forces to rise above egos and join hands to defeat state-sanctioned fascism.
The writer is Associate Editor (Diplomatic Affairs), Daily Times. He tweets @mhassankhan06