Why AAP’s pro reservation stance could help it in Lok Sabha elections

As the Aam Aadmi Party gears up for the Lok Sabha elections, the party's senior leader Yogendra Yadav has been quoted as saying that it will seek more quota for lower castes and women.

According to an Economic Times report, Yadav told the paper that, "We (AAP) didn't have clarity about it until recently. However, we are now clear about it. We will work for more reservation for disadvantaged groups. Discrimination on the basis of caste is extreme in India. Equally bad is discrimination based on gender and class. We will work towards the welfare of all groups that are victim to such discrimination."

PTI

Earlier Yadav had told Firstpost that "We don't want to do politics the way it's being practiced. Issues of social injustice have to be addressed in a new way. That's where the creativity and crafting of the politics lie."

Even as Yadav talks of a stronger push for reservations now, it would be fair to say that AAP has never actually shied away from having a stance on the issue of reservations. The party's vision plan touches on the issue right at the start. Under the chapter titled "Creation of a just and equal society free of prejudice and oppression," it points out the reservation can't be done away with. It reads,

The reservation system was introduced to resolve the issue of social inequality. We believe that at this point, reservation is essential for the advancement of the deprived and marginalized section of the society. At the same time it is essential that the benefits of reservation reach to those who are most needy even amongst this lot. Reservation should not be an option for those who have already benefited from it and are now financially prosperous.

These should be for socially and economically weaker sections only… However, we have to reconsider and think if only reservations are enough to ensure progress among the backward segments of society? 

Experts feel that from a policy level, AAP's pro-reservation stance might help them.

Pradip Kumar Dutta, Professor Political Science from Delhi University, told Firstpost that where reservation and AAP are concerned, "From a policy perspective, it could be helpful for them. Policies that economically and socially empower disadvantaged sections without incurring a greater proportion of reservations for government jobs and education would be helpful for the AAP.

He adds, "It also needs to be remembered that a lot of the poor are from backward castes, given the years of discrimination."