The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had its moment in the sun when it won 67 out of 70 seats in the Delhi Assembly elections, some three years ago. The AAP — an offshoot of the Anna Hazare-led India Against Corruption movement, was a motley group of Left-of-Centre activists. Little wonder then that the AAP, under Arvind Kejriwal, got the full-throated support of the Left liberal intelligentsia, to take on Narendra Modi, especially after Congress and its leader, Rahul Gandhi, proved a dismal failure.
The initial AAP grouping included members who questioned India’s claim over Kashmir; who supported calls for a plebiscite in the border state; who called the blood-thirsty Naxalites misguided youth.
As Kejriwal once said, the AAP was a party of “anarchists”. This phrase aptly sums up the AAP position — when it comes to the Constitution, the institutions and systems in the country.
After many desertions, reverses in various state elections, and corruption allegations, the AAP was recently rocked by rebellion by Kumar Vishwas. Vishwas, a popular poet, is not a mass leader, by any reckoning. When he was asked to contest the Amethi seat by Kejriwal in the last parliamentary election, he finished a poor third, behind Rahul Gandhi and Smriti Irani.
In the recent elections in Punjab, Goa, and more recently in Delhi, Vishwas was nowhere to be seen, despite his popularity among AAP cadres. Some say, Vishwas owes his position in the party entirely to Kejriwal.
This may be only partly true. Vishwas, in a party of “anarchists” also represents a worldview. In many public pronouncements, Vishwas has hailed Prime Minister Modi and his surgical strike, across the LoC. Vishwas has continuously taken up the cause of the jawan and the Army. His poetry is often an ode to the valour and sacrifice of our armed forces. Little wonder then that rumours have regularly floated about his defecting to the BJP.
His recent rebellion in the AAP is of no consequence. Kejriwal’s act of mollifying Vishwas by making him in-charge of Rajasthan too, is of no consequence. What is significant, however, is that in a party of “anarchists”, there exists a strong, potent nationalist voice. The AAP, currently ruling Delhi, and aspiring to rule Goa, Punjab and Gujarat one day, cannot afford to slip into a motley group of Leftist freelancers who revel in anarchism. For it to be a mainstream entity, it must reflect the national concerns and aspirations.
Vishwas may be a small timer in politics when compared to a Kejriwal, but in stark contrast to the Delhi Chief Minister, the popular poet does reflect the national concerns and aspirations.
BW Reporters
Suman K Jha was the deputy editor with BW Businessworld
