"Kabhi kabhi kuch jeetne ke liye kuch haarna padta hai,
aur haar ke jeetne wale ko Baazigar kehte hain." This is probably one of
the most famous dialogues ever from Bollywood. A dialogue that lay the
foundation for an average Indian with average looks to one day become
the King of the Indian film industry. The same dialogue also
encapsulates, in one sentence, the story of the people behind the Aam
Aadmi Party. People who left their jobs and sacrificed their personal
lives, and even lost their friends from the Jan Lokpal movement, to
cause possibly the biggest upset in the history of Indian politics. And,
that too, in the National Capital, the heart of the country. Let us
look at why these Baazigars will be the winners of the Lok Sabha
elections in 2014.
This
article lists the turn of events from the point of view of a Aam Aadmi
and the opinions of a Aam Aadmi. In case you observe any factual
inaccuracies please point out so that they can be promptly rectified.
The
Aam Aadmi Party was formed when about eighteen months back some of the
arrogant political leaders threw a challenge to the members of the Jan
Lokpal movement. They were challenged to fight elections to prove that
they represented the common man. Some of the leaders of the movement led
by Arvind Kejriwal accepted the challenge and formed a party, aptly
named Aam Aadmi Party. The symbol of the party was a jhaadoo (a broom)
symbolising that the party was formed to clean the Indian politics.
Throughout,
the leaders of both Congress and BJP continued to ridicule AAP as a
bunch of good for nothing jokers. Guess they hadn't seen The Dark
Knight. For this bunch of jokers, ones with a good intent, had made a
mark on the history of the country. By the time 2013 ended, the national
convener of a party that was formed barely 12 months back had become
the Chief Minister of the National Capital.
Those who
lost the elections included some stalwarts from both the parties. People
who had been the winners for past 15 years continuously, and more. And
the best part was that most of them lost to first timers. The Aam Aadmi
has, atleast once, defeated the evil politicians.
What
happened in Delhi gave hope to people across the country. Those who are
frustrated with the rampant corruption, that is eating the country like
termites eat wood, are rejoicing. This has in turn caused the national
politics, which was till date focussed on individual personalities, to
be focussed on issues. Narendra Modi is talking about development and
pro-people measures like tax reforms. BJP all of a sudden discovered its
good CM's like Manohar Parrikar.
BTW Modi is yet to
respond to the challenge that Kumar Vishwas posed to him - to fight
against either Rahul Gandhi or Sonia Gandhi in the 2014 elections. Going
by his track record Manohar Parrikar can be seen as the Manmohan Singh
of BJP (defending corrupt ministers). And the idea of tax reforms was
hijacked by Ramdev from an organisation named Artha Kranti.
On
the other hand the Delhi government has been under the lens of the
media 24x7 since the day it was formed. As the representatives of the
party themselves say, what could be a bigger evidence of change in the
expectations of the people from politicians then the fact that they want
the politicians to work and work fast. Every move of the government is
being critically evaluated. That too on national television. All this
while CMs of the other three states where elections happened at the
exact same time are probably sleeping away in peace. There's absolutely
no mention of them.
In the lasting impact that it has
had on the national politics AAP has already achieved a significant part
of its raison d'etre. There is still a long way to go. But, as long as
AAP continues to be true to its roots and philosophy of being the Aam
Aadmi's voice it can expect to continue to be the Aam Aadmi's choice.
That
said, we come to the 2014 elections. If I am to put my expectations
about 2014 Lok Sabha elections in writing, I would want AAP to win over
100 seats, Congress below 100 and BJP above 180. BJP should form the
government with LK Advani as the prime minister, with issue based
support from AAP. AAP should give outside support and play the role of a
constructive opposition. A role that an aam aadmi cannot expect any of
the other parties today to play. The experience, foresight and
leadership abilities of Advani combined with the support of a party that
truly cares about people, and under its critical watch, would be the
best this country can get.
Going by the current
scenario, this is a real possibility. This would ensure that by the time
elections happen in 2019, Congress would have gone through the process
of aatma-manthan (self cleansing) and BJP would have realised that it is
where it is only because of the common man's support - whether it is
Hindu, Sikh or Muslim. And, hopefully, in 2019 we will have an election
where parties talk about real issues instead of hatred that has marked
this election.
And, if this happens, AAP would be the true winner of this year's elections. Aam Aadmi would have won!
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