Dirty Linen season in Delhi

Delhi will elect their leader when they pinpoint their finger towards a certain party. The top parties include the Congress (current government) and BJP (current opposition). Had it been a two horse race as was initially expected, the mathematics would have been easy for everyone concerned. Add to this duo a new group by the name – Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Now that’s three parties in the fray! Remember that adage – “Two’s a company, three’s a crowd”. Apt in this case, isn't it?

AAP has completely changed the dynamics of Delhi elections. So much so that even Congress and BJP are united in voicing their apprehensions against AAP. Enemy of an enemy is like a friend. And in a democratic country where parties form strange and different alliances every passing election, this situation is Delhi is not unprecedented.

Let’s give credit where it’s due. AAP has made a huge impact since the India against Corruption (IAC) crusade. Anna Hazare has been the forefront of this crusade which started immediately after India won the Cricket World Cup in 2011. Lokpal was conceptualized and eventually even the political parties started taking notice. Then an unfortunate thing happened - Divide. A certain faction of the IAC decided to be a part of the system to change the system. The faction was led by Arvind Kejriwal. The other faction, who was still led by Anna Hazare, decided against joining politics and IAC went kaput. Still the momentum carried by IAC now started continuing for the then newly formed AAP. AAP promised change. To be fair to other parties, who doesn’t promise change in today’s politics. However, AAP was different in the sense that people saw hope and a new corruption free India in the near future.

Still, Congress and BJP thought of AAP as a local new party who will not change the dynamics of Delhi. That was until the opinion polls started predicting a huge debut for AAP. If the opinion polls translate exactly to votes in election, there will be a hung assembly. This in itself is testimony of AAPs growth in such a short span.

Now the top parties started taking notice. Like a senior teaching juniors in college regarding how to behave in a new environment, there begun a lot of corruption charges against AAP candidates. A blog published against Arvind Kejriwal by IACs own blogger. A video grab of Anna and his followers expressing their unhappiness with IAC funds being used for elections. Then Anna wants Kejriwal to disband AAP and contest as an independent. And now we saw the sting operation against several AAP members. And have a look at the timing. All this is happening just weeks before the elections. Didn't we expect all this to happen? I, for one, expected. And it won’t stop here. If history is to be believed, there’s more to come.

There’s rising speculation that the two leading parties have ensured that the smaller one is eliminated before the elections – a typical political move to ensure one-on-one competition. The latest from the sting operation is that AAP got hold of the raw footage and has given their members clean chit! What a response. Politics at its very best! However, I am not writing this on the basis on speculation. Just plain facts we know and have heard from the media / other channels. Will people still trust AAP? Are they back to square one? Has the government selection now reduced to just 2 parties?

Oh, and by the way, don’t forget that None Of The Above (NOTA) is also applicable as an option.