What do people want from a government? Governance. So far, most political parties have followed a template – once the government is formed, their leaders give a few speeches; people are made to fight in the name of ideology; and there is a lot of big talk. In all of this, what people on the ground desired through governance, they never got.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is the first such party in India that speaks only on governance, and once voted to power, focuses solely on the governance agenda. What is governance? It is the government building schools for your children, hospitals for your family, providing facilities to ensure you don’t have to stand in a queue or pay bribe to get your things done, provides you water, electricity etc. We elect a party to power for these things. And in a first, a party that is elected to work on these things is actually working on them – which, in other words, is Arvind Kejriwal’s governance model.
That is why people have started understanding and accepting this model. First Delhi and now Punjab have given this model a chance in their hope for governance; different states are aspiring for such a model of governance.
Preparing for Battle Gujarat
In Gujarat, we are focusing on building and strengthening the party organisation, and reaching out to people through different programmes. So far, we have been telling them about the success of the Delhi model of governance, now on, we will also talk about Punjab.
The AAP has provided a governance blueprint in Punjab, talking about issues that matter to the state’s farmers — free electricity, water, full price for their crop. This applies to Gujarat too. Now that we are moving out of Delhi, this is the basic plan of governance. Just like the AAP has finished Inspector Raj in Delhi, we will ensure similar steps in Punjab and Gujarat too — single-window clearance system for businesses and greater transparency.
The AAP’s acceptance in Delhi and Punjab show that people understand the party talks about basics and changing the system from the ground up. Political parties in India rarely talk about basics. No one, for instance, talks about ensuring government offices open on time and officials are available on time to listen to and address people’s grievances. This is our uniqueness: we will talk about these basics and work on getting them right.
The Modi Challenge in Gujarat
Anti-incumbency is a sentiment prevalent across the country. People voted for the Congress or, in certain states, a regional party for decades, then they have voted for the BJP over the next decade or so, now what option do they have? They will again vote for the BJP. But wherever the Aam Aadmi Party is present as a strong alternative, it has managed to get these anti-incumbency votes, riding on people’s hope.
In UP and some other states, we have a lot of new people and the party is not yet strong in terms of organisation, that’s why we did not get all the anti-incumbency votes. But in the days to come, AAP will be the answer to anti-incumbency.
Why? Because the vote is not just for anti-incumbency, it is also a vote for hope – and that the AAP will ensure good governance.
In Gujarat, we are not taking it lightly or thinking that because there is anti-incumbency and we have a governance model, we will win. We know our opposition can go to any length. We are not ignoring that and we are ready to face the challenge, be it at the organisational level, at the tactical level, at the perception level or at the brand level. Our effort is to give poori takkar.
In the forthcoming Assembly election in Gujarat, the questions this time will be out of syllabus, and we are confident of registering a historic performance in the state.
I will not put an estimate to the number of seats we can win. We are here to win people’s hearts. If we can do that, people will vote for us. Hum janta ko overrule nahi karenge.
We will continue to talk about our governance model, our uniqueness, and take it to more people. Just like we did it in Punjab.
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Is AAP the New Congress?
The party is a replacement for the BJP. Where people are tired of the BJP, there is a need for the AAP because the Congress has already been replaced by the BJP, nationally.
Now, the BJP is set to complete a decade in power at the Centre, and voters are looking for an alternative. In a way, the Aam Aadmi Party is an alternative to every established political party. Because we are new, so at the organisational level, and also in terms of public outreach, we will require time to take our symbol, our agenda to everyone.
The Aam Aadmi Party represents hope for people. Where the AAP is coming to power, people’s expectations are also getting fulfilled. Be it Gujarat or rest of India, people are looking for a change from existing established and orthodox political parties, which do politics in a typical manner with a typical neta. AAP has the courage and the strength to deliver on that change.
Gopal Italia is President, Aam Aadmi Party – Gujarat. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication.
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