Aam Aadmi Party - a beautiful dream turned into nightmare.

The results of by poll of Rajouri Garden assembly are out. BJP has made a thumping victory with AAP being at third and forfeiting its deposit. They still have a comfortable majority with 66 MLAs out of 70, but this defeat will cost them dearly and MCD elections being at hand, it will demoralize their cadres. This is latest in the series of setbacks AAP has faced in recent times after losing assembly elections in Punjab and Goa. 

Election results are not the only setbacks AAP has faced. Their image has also been tarnished by other events, e.g. the three member Shunglu committee, in it's report has concluded that in Delhi government, powers of top bureaucrats were usurped, the scheme of governance encapsulated in the Constitution was violated and power was abused to benefit the kin of government functionaries. 

All these accusations are against the party which rose to the power on the promise of a corruption free, nepotism free and a righteous society. Where did they fail? Was Anna Hazare right when he said that "elections require huge funds, which will be tough for activists to organise without compromising on their values"? Is AAP following the same old path of anyhow being in power?

 There is a certain charisma in AAP which attract people across ideologies. AAP supporters include religious fanatics as well as those who don't believe in religion at all, businessmen as well as labourers working for them. This is not a small feat. In this way, AAP can be termed a miracle of politics. The secret of this support lies in the strategy of AAP which makes them morally rightists and economically leftists. The best part of their strategy is that they are not confined to any ideology and can choose anything which suits them. If the spurious claims of patients treated in Mohalla clinics be set aside, the work done by them in the field of education and health is commendable. The condition of government schools and hospitals has improved significantly and the public in general and lower class in particular has benefitted immensely from these schemes. The government schools and hospitals themselves sing the success of schemes in these areas. Because of AAP's policies and strict vigil, many EWS families have been able to admit their wards in schools which were unthinkable for them till now.

The freebies, they have doled out, have benefitted people of all social and financial status. These include slashing the rates of electricity and water. Everyone has shared the joy of paying much less for these amenities than they used to pay before AAP came to power. With these schemes and policies, AAP appears to be a formidable force to be reckoned with. The populist measures have also helped them to gain a huge support in the lower income group, which is still their most loyal voter base, however they are also deserting the AAP slowly. Apart from those, AAP is heavily dependent on anti-BJP votes. So, what has transformed them from a mighty force to a group of cry-babies.

Mostly, this degradation of theirs may be attributed to the habit of speaking balderdash more often than not. Their leaders, including the supreme leader, have put their foot in their mouth so many times that their populist schemes and the incredible strategy have lost their charm and  buffoonery has engulfed them.

The functioning of AAP is a clear case of misplaced priorities. The free wifi, as declared in their manifesto, are still awaited. So are the regularization of temporary staff of Delhi government. The occupants of the unauthorized colonies are still waiting for regularization. There is no civic amenities in these areas and with these unlivable colonies lying in the heart of the city, AAP is now promising to turn Delhi into London. AAP should learn from the fate of Shiela Dixit after she promised to turn Delhi into Paris. The indigenous problems demand indigenous solutions. You have to start with small steps, then only you can achieve bigger goals. Public is still to witness a single Marshal in DTC buses. The CCTV cameras are nowhere to be seen. Even the autowallahs, who were the most vocal supporters of AAP, feel deceived and can be seen inducing their customers to vote against AAP. 

Instead of trying to fulfill their poll promises, AAP and AK are always seen locking horns with the center. The latest attacks of AAP on EVMs has made them appear whiners which is definitely not good for the image of a party, specially when the party is enjoying a grand majority by winning assembly elections in 2015, where the same EVMs were used. In another news, Ram Jethmalani, who was to fight Kejriwal's case free of cost, has raised his bill of millions to the government of Delhi. Since, Kejriwal himself had stated that the petition is personal, paying the advocate fee by the government does not inspire honesty and appears to be against the very principles on which AAP was formed.

One more reason for their downfall is their desperation to project them as the leader of the anti-BJP forces. This stance of theirs has only made the anti-BJP votes divide further and has helped BJP. In order to consolidate the anti-BJP votes in their favor, they have tried to make other parties look weak and unworthy of votes; but as the notion goes, wherever there is polarization, it will be most beneficial for BJP. As soon as the news of a particular community voting for AAP breaks out, all the other communities gang up and vote for BJP. This has been a pattern for last three years and AAP, of all political parties, should understand this and try to stop polarization of votes.

AAP should understand that many voters who voted for them in 2015, had been long time BJP supporters and still has a soft corner for it. They can only be shooed off by blaming center for everything and abusing BJP and Modi day in, day out. The way forward for AAP is to alienate themselves from the image of being anti-establishment and maintain a healthy political competition with all parties and at the same time making the center to submit before them for the benefit of the people of Delhi. Because public don't care whether the center is allowing you to do anything or not, they want results, which, unfortunately, are still indiscernible.

So, better late than never, it's time for AAP to leave some bad habits and start a new journey, harmonizing the interests of the party with the interests of Delhi.