AAP’s recruitment drive marks triumph of Indian democracy

For the average Indian, politics is a spectator sport. We talk of it at length but do very little. We cast our vote every five years, and spend the rest of the time heckling from the sidelines. In the world's largest democracy, politics is not for ordinary folks, but for those 'other' people who know how to navigate a murky world driven by violence, corruption and intrigue.

And then the Aam Aadmi Party came along, touting the radical idea of a people's party. A party truly open to everyone from auto-walas to activists to intellectuals to farmers to high-flying corporate titans. All are welcome, be it as volunteers, donors or candidates. Come ye, come all. Fill a form and make your pitch.

The response from the so-called cynical, alienated Indian has been astonishing, as the Economic Times reports:

AAP supporters. AFP.

From just 5,000 - before the Delhi assembly election results - to the current figure of 33,000, the growth in AAP membership in Lucknow alone is a sign of the party's potential appeal in UP. In Bihar, at 15 camps around Patna and in 37 other districts, AAP volunteers have written out 60,000 membership receipts in the weeks after the election outcome were announced on December 8. Such is the enthusiasm that the newly formed party has run out of membership forms; the headquarters in Delhi has been asked to supply another 20,000. 

In Eastern UP, the offline membership has shot up from 65,250 to nearly 1,45,000 in one month -- and they haven't counted the online enrollments yet. Many of these new entrants are young, educated and idealistic, but they also include, as one AAP party coordinator puts it "lawyers, traders, farmers, and even local politicians fed up with their own parent party joining us." And the level of enthusiasm in rural areas will be heartening for a party long dismissed as a big metro phenomenon.

In his Times of India column, Santosh Desai observes, "The AAP promise is not about a glorious outcome -- it views politics not as a transportation vehicle to a pre-determined and desirable destination but as an instrument whose main objective is to invite messy participation. He restores to politics the idea of fidelity  -- to what people want." Or more accurately, to what people can do. AAP expands our impoverished notion of democracy. It is not merely for the people -- elect me and I will do what you want -- but of and by the people.

Kejriwal's "main contribution so far has been to imagine politics as being distinct from power," notes an astute Desai, but seemingly misses the revolutionary implications of such a decoupling. This is not merely the transformation of politics into a process. In separating politics from power -- rejecting the lal batti perks of victory, insisting on absolute moral probity -- Kejriwal is undermining the single greatest incentive that motivates the Indian political class.

Politics in India is aspirational, but in the most degraded sense of the word. In towns and villages across the Indian heartland, a political career offers one of the few opportunities for mobility for young, impoverished men in a system driven by bribes, connections and quotas. "You could work towards becoming a either the state or national legislature, and siphon off government funds earmarked for literacy and population control projects; if nothing worked out, you could aspire, at the other end, to be a lowly telephone mechanic and make money by selling illegal telephone connections," writes Pankaj Mishra in his book Temptations of the West of the future facing college students in Benaras. A reason why our universities have long been a fertile recruiting ground for rank-and-foot party soldiers who cut their teeth in the rough-and-tumble world of student politics.

Liberalisation may have created more opportunities than before, but a political career remains the most reliable route to prosperity for the underclass. As Congress Rajya Sabha MP Birendra Singh candidly put it, "Politics is a very lucrative profession even if you fail in other spheres of life." Our system rewards all those who possess the peculiar talents required to prosper in its hostile environs, be they peasant or landlord. In India, elections are not political battles over ideas or policy, but a ladder to assured material wealth for its candidates who, as Mishra writes,  "all seek power that in societies degraded by colonialism often comes without a redeeming idea of what it is to be used for, the kind of power that, in most cases, amounts to little more than an opportunity to rise above the rest of the population and savor the richness of the world."

And this, this is what Arvind Kejriwal seeks to undo. Irrespective of his party's long terms prospects, AAP has already inspired many Indians to think the unthinkable, to imagine elections as a means not to power but to democracy. But our imaginations alone will not sustain us in a system engineered to create and circulate illicit wealth. As Kejriwal himself once declared, the first step to cleaning up politics is to make it unprofitable.

AAP recruitment drive marks triumph of Indian democracy

For the average Indian, politics is a spectator sport. We talk of it at length but do very little. We cast our vote every five years, and spend the rest of the time heckling from the sidelines. In the world's largest democracy, politics is not for ordinary folks, but for those 'other' people who know how to navigate a murky world driven by violence, corruption and intrigue.

And then the Aam Aadmi Party came along, touting the radical idea of a people's party. A party truly open to everyone from auto-walas to activists to intellectuals to farmers to high-flying corporate titans. All are welcome, be it as volunteers, donors or candidates. Come ye, come all. Fill a form and make your pitch.

The response from the so-called cynical, alienated Indian has been astonishing, as the Economic Times reports:

AAP supporters. AFP.

From just 5,000 - before the Delhi assembly election results - to the current figure of 33,000, the growth in AAP membership in Lucknow alone is a sign of the party's potential appeal in UP. In Bihar, at 15 camps around Patna and in 37 other districts, AAP volunteers have written out 60,000 membership receipts in the weeks after the election outcome were announced on December 8. Such is the enthusiasm that the newly formed party has run out of membership forms; the headquarters in Delhi has been asked to supply another 20,000. 

In Eastern UP, the offline membership has shot up from 65,250 to nearly 1,45,000 in one month -- and they haven't counted the online enrollments yet. Many of these new entrants are young, educated and idealistic, but they also include, as one AAP party coordinator puts it "lawyers, traders, farmers, and even local politicians fed up with their own parent party joining us." And the level of enthusiasm in rural areas will be heartening for a party long dismissed as a big metro phenomenon.

In his Times of India column, Santosh Desai observes, "The AAP promise is not about a glorious outcome -- it views politics not as a transportation vehicle to a pre-determined and desirable destination but as an instrument whose main objective is to invite messy participation. He restores to politics the idea of fidelity  -- to what people want." Or more accurately, to what people can do. AAP expands our impoverished notion of democracy. It is not merely for the people -- elect me and I will do what you want -- but of and by the people.

Kejriwal's "main contribution so far has been to imagine politics as being distinct from power," notes an astute Desai, but seemingly misses the revolutionary implications of such a decoupling. This is not merely the transformation of politics into a process. In separating politics from power -- rejecting the lal batti perks of victory, insisting on absolute moral probity -- Kejriwal is undermining the single greatest incentive that motivates the Indian political class.

Politics in India is aspirational, but in the most degraded sense of the word. In towns and villages across the Indian heartland, a political career offers one of the few opportunities for mobility for young, impoverished men in a system driven by bribes, connections and quotas. "You could work towards becoming a either the state or national legislature, and siphon off government funds earmarked for literacy and population control projects; if nothing worked out, you could aspire, at the other end, to be a lowly telephone mechanic and make money by selling illegal telephone connections," writes Pankaj Mishra in his book Temptations of the West of the future facing college students in Benaras. A reason why our universities have long been a fertile recruiting ground for rank-and-foot party soldiers who cut their teeth in the rough-and-tumble world of student politics.

Liberalisation may have created more opportunities than before, but a political career remains the most reliable route to prosperity for the underclass. As Congress Rajya Sabha MP Birendra Singh candidly put it, "Politics is a very lucrative profession even if you fail in other spheres of life." Our system rewards all those who possess the peculiar talents required to prosper in its hostile environs, be they peasant or landlord. In India, elections are not political battles over ideas or policy, but a ladder to assured material wealth for its candidates who, as Mishra writes,  "all seek power that in societies degraded by colonialism often comes without a redeeming idea of what it is to be used for, the kind of power that, in most cases, amounts to little more than an opportunity to rise above the rest of the population and savor the richness of the world."

And this, this is what Arvind Kejriwal seeks to undo. Irrespective of his party's long terms prospects, AAP has already inspired many Indians to think the unthinkable, to imagine elections as a means not to power but to democracy. But our imaginations alone will not sustain us in a system engineered to create and circulate illicit wealth. As Kejriwal himself once declared, the first step to cleaning up politics is to make it unprofitable.

We do not fear AAP in Maharashtra: Uddhav Thackeray

Mumbai: Shiv Sena president today said that they do not consider AAP as their competitor as 'Aam Aadmi' (common man) in Maharashtra was fully supporting them.

Uddhav Thackeray. PTI image

"Maharashtra voters are the aam admi. Shiv Sena chief late Bal Thackeray has always included the aam aadmi in his political endeavours and worked for them. Hence, we do not fear any one," Uddhav told reporters when asked about Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) plans to contest Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Maharashtra.

Uddhav was at the Shivaji Park this morning at the statue of his mother late Meenatai to pay homage on her death anniversary.

PTI

Plea seeking ban on Musharraf’s foreign travel rejected

Islamabad: A Pakistani court today rejected a petition to bar possible exit of former military ruler Pervez Musharraf from the country for treatment but made it clear that he could not leave without permission from the courts. Rejecting the petition, Islamabad High Court Justice Shaukat Aziz remarked that it is the job of the courts - that provided bail to Musharraf - to ensure his appearance.

Musharraf, 70, could not leave the country without the permission of the court, he said. He further said that the court cannot interfere in the jurisdiction of the special court, constituted to hear treason case against Musharraf. The petition was filed by the Shuhada Foundation of Pakistan Trust, Lal Masjid, on January 3 to ensure Musharraf remains in Pakistan. The foundation is a representative body of people who died in the 2007 army operation in Islamabad. Meanwhile, Musharraf did not appear before the special court today.

Pervez Musharraf. Agencies.

His advocate Ahmed Raza Kasuri had made it clear yesterday that Musharraf will not appear as he was not well. The former commando, who plotted the Kargil conflict and staged a bloodless coup in 1999, was rushed to the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology in Rawalpindi after complaining heart problem on his way to court to face treason trial on January 2.

He faces treason charges for suspending, subverting and abrogating the Constitution, imposing an emergency in the country in November 2007 and detaining judges of the superior courts. It is the first time in Pakistan's history that a former military ruler has been put on trial for treason, a charge that entails life imprisonment or death penalty if convicted.

There is intense speculation that Musharraf is likely to be flown out of the country for treatment. His detractors say the military is supporting him though there has not been any public support by the armed forces. Musharraf, who was into self-imposed exile, had returned to Pakistan last year hoping to act as a third force in the May general elections.

Unfortunately for him, he found himself entangled in a web of cases that made him stay at his farm house under house arrest for over six months. Just when he had managed to get bail in all cases, the government constituted a Special Court to try him for treason.

PTI

‘People beginning to resent Congress’s blackmail over secularism’

Is the Prime Minister's comment calling the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi 'disastrous' for the country just another instance of the Congress using its secular credentials to blackmail voters into voting for them?

According to Pratap Bhanu Mehta, President of Center for Policy Research, it's just another instance of Indian political parties taking its electorate for granted.

The PM at his press conference. Image courtesy: PIB

"What people are fed up of is political parties taking them for granted. I think Congress's biggest mistake was to think that it could use secularism as the point of political blackmail," he said on the CNN-IBN show Ideas for India that will air this week.

"By simply saying that we are secular and others are not, that alone would be sufficient to establish its credibility," he said about the Congress's view of voters.

Mehta said that people are beginning to resent this and it could have an impact on political parties in the future.

The Prime Minister's comment on the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate had come in for sharp criticism from the opposition party that had questioned the language used against Modi. Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley had said Singh's statements had reduced the dignity of the Prime Minister's office.

Tamil Nadu: Nobody wants Cong, BJP; AAP not a player

While political parties in other big states are still unclear of their alliances for the Lok Sabha elections, Tamil Nadu looks like an exception: So early in the day, at least the two big rivals are clear about the company they want to keep.

The AIADMK had announced several months ago that they would go it alone, which in real terms means some space for the Left and the minorities, while the DMK said it didn't want its UPA-partner Congress anywhere near them.

In other words, both the Dravidian parities have asked their national counterparts aiming for power in Delhi to stay away. That both had been alternating with the Congress and the BJP doesn't matter. For the moment, both are a liability.

However, the DMK's story is only half complete.

Jayalalithaa's AIADMK appears stronger right now. AFP.

It certainly doesn't want the Congress, but wants the DMDK, the party founded and run by actor "Captain" Vijayakanth. It has propositioned to Vijayakanth quite publicly more than once, but Vijayakanth is yet to take the bait. Instinctively, he wouldn't, because he doesn't like the DMK - at least that's what he had told the people in the last Assembly elections.

Vijayakanth hasn't yet said that he would tie up with the DMK; instead, on Sunday he said that the BJP was also a choice. The DMK is patiently waiting to hear from him because they know that he has nowhere to go. Allying with a party (BJP) with less than three per cent voteshare will be pure harakiri for him.

So the principal fight will be between the AIADMK-CPM-CPI (plus the Manithaneya Makkal Katchi, the Muslim party that won two Assembly seats in 2011 in alliance with the AIADMK) and the DMK-DMDK (plus the VCK, the Dalit party).

On paper - going by average voteshare - the AIADMK front looks stronger. It has an average voteshare percentage (based on the last four general elections - 2004 and 2009 Lok Sabha, and 2006 and 2011 assembly elections) of 30 plus compared to DMK's 24 plus. During the last ten years, the AIADMK always scored higher than the DMK, except in 2009.

That gives the AIADMK the headstart. However, what also matter are the alliance partners and how much they contribute. The DMK won the 2006 Assembly elections and got more seats than the AIADMK in the Lok Sabha in 2009 because of its alliance with the Congress, which has an average voteshare exceeding 10 per cent. Therefore, to be contest-worthy, the DMK needs an equally healthy replacement for the Congress and that is why it's swallowing its pride and wooing the DMDK.

The DMDK's average voteshare of nearly 9 per cent and support from parties such as VCK can take the DMK neck-to-neck with the AIADMK. If the Vanniyar dominated PMK, which has been posturing equidistance from both the Dravidian parties also end up in the DMK front, it will be significantly stronger on paper although poll arithmetic is not simple addition of voteshares.

The alliance arithmetic makes it very clear that the AIDMK will not go it alone as was originally announced. Going by the 2011 elections, the party is far stronger than the DMK on its own. However, the allies of the DMK will make up for the shortfall. Therefore, Jayalalithaa will certainly need at least the Left with her - the CPM and CPM together have about five per cent voteshare.

Unfortunately, the biggest loser in the alliance -- by omission -- is the Congress. Without a partner and no chance to win, the party will not only see its resources wasted, but might also see an erosion of its voteshare because traditionally the state's electorate backs hands down the front with a potential to win.

What will be interesting, in this context, are the possible multi-cornered fights. Besides the AIADMK and DMK fronts, if the Congress (mostly alone) and BJP (mostly with Vaiko's MDMK) and the PMK (if it doesn't ally with the DMK) are also in the fray, the contests can be too close to call in many pockets.

Where does this crowded scenario place the Delhi-hero AAP?

Nowhere for the time being, because there's hardly any space. The polity of the state is do deeply polarised between the two Dravidian parties that all the other parties have an electoral life only if they are in alliance with the former. Some earnestly believed that there was space for a third player, which the Congress, the DMDK and the PMK have been vying for. However, none of them could cross the 10 per cent park and the most successful of the three was the DMDK.

If the AAP wants to make some inroads, even if targets only the cities, it has to come up with something truly dramatic and imaginative. It will also require leaders who can match the following and charisma of Jayalalithaa and Karunanidhi. Fortunately or unfortunately, most of the state's politically thinking have already signed up to the Dravidian ideology and identity and the rest of the space, although not too significant, is overcrowded.

From whatever little AAP has done so far in the state has been far from impressive or smart. Inviting the leaders of the Kudnagulam anti-nuclear agitation, for example, into its fold is a strategic blunder because outside their constituency, they are mostly unpopular.

In the end, Tamil Nadu is a brilliant example of the domination of regional parties even for national elections. Isn't it ironical that two principal national parties vying for the crown in Delhi have been asked to stay out?

AAP’s recruitment drive: A triumph for Indian democracy

For the average Indian, politics is a spectator sport. We talk of it at length but do very little. We cast our vote every five years, and spend the rest of the time heckling from the sidelines. In the world's largest democracy, politics is not for ordinary folks, but for those 'other' people who know how to navigate a murky world driven by violence, corruption and intrigue.

And then the Aam Aadmi Party came along, touting the radical idea of a people's party. A party truly open to everyone from auto-walas to activists to intellectuals to farmers to high-flying corporate titans. All are welcome, be it as volunteers, donors or candidates. Come ye, come all. Fill a form and make your pitch.

The response from the so-called cynical, alienated Indian has been astonishing, as the Economic Times reports:

AAP supporters. AFP.

From just 5,000 - before the Delhi assembly election results - to the current figure of 33,000, the growth in AAP membership in Lucknow alone is a sign of the party's potential appeal in UP. In Bihar, at 15 camps around Patna and in 37 other districts, AAP volunteers have written out 60,000 membership receipts in the weeks after the election outcome were announced on December 8. Such is the enthusiasm that the newly formed party has run out of membership forms; the headquarters in Delhi has been asked to supply another 20,000. 

In Eastern UP, the offline membership has shot up from 65,250 to nearly 1,45,000 in one month -- and they haven't counted the online enrollments yet. Many of these new entrants are young, educated and idealistic, but they also include, as one AAP party coordinator puts it "lawyers, traders, farmers, and even local politicians fed up with their own parent party joining us." And the level of enthusiasm in rural areas will be heartening for a party long dismissed as a big metro phenomenon.

In his Times of India column, Santosh Desai observes, "The AAP promise is not about a glorious outcome -- it views politics not as a transportation vehicle to a pre-determined and desirable destination but as an instrument whose main objective is to invite messy participation. He restores to politics the idea of fidelity  -- to what people want." Or more accurately, to what people can do. AAP expands our impoverished notion of democracy. It is not merely for the people -- elect me and I will do what you want -- but of and by the people.

Kejriwal's "main contribution so far has been to imagine politics as being distinct from power," notes an astute Desai, but seemingly misses the revolutionary implications of such a decoupling. This is not merely the transformation of politics into a process. In separating politics from power -- rejecting the lal batti perks of victory, insisting on absolute moral probity -- Kejriwal is undermining the single greatest incentive that motivates the Indian political class.

Politics in India is aspirational, but in the most degraded sense of the word. In towns and villages across the Indian heartland, a political career offers one of the few opportunities for mobility for young, impoverished men in a system driven by bribes, connections and quotas. "You could work towards becoming a either the state or national legislature, and siphon off government funds earmarked for literacy and population control projects; if nothing worked out, you could aspire, at the other end, to be a lowly telephone mechanic and make money by selling illegal telephone connections," writes Pankaj Mishra in his book Temptations of the West of the future facing college students in Benaras. A reason why our universities have long been a fertile recruiting ground for rank-and-foot party soldiers who cut their teeth in the rough-and-tumble world of student politics.

Liberalisation may have created more opportunities than before, but a political career remains the most reliable route to prosperity for the underclass. As Congress Rajya Sabha MP Birendra Singh candidly put it, "Politics is a very lucrative profession even if you fail in other spheres of life." Our system rewards all those who possess the peculiar talents required to prosper in its hostile environs, be they peasant or landlord. In India, elections are not political battles over ideas or policy, but a ladder to assured material wealth for its candidates who, as Mishra writes,  "all seek power that in societies degraded by colonialism often comes without a redeeming idea of what it is to be used for, the kind of power that, in most cases, amounts to little more than an opportunity to rise above the rest of the population and savor the richness of the world."

And this, this is what Arvind Kejriwal seeks to undo. Irrespective of his party's long terms prospects, AAP has already inspired many Indians to think the unthinkable, to imagine elections as a means not to power but to democracy. But our imaginations alone will not sustain us in a system engineered to create and circulate illicit wealth. As Kejriwal himself once declared, the first step to cleaning up politics is to make it unprofitable.