Best Wishes to AAP

General elections are round the corner, and I have never been as excited before the elections as I am this year. What is the cause of this interest? Well the answer I guess is the confused incumbent Government, the exponentially growing popularity of Modi, and the suspense created by the overnight emergence of AAP and Arvind Kejriwal. The political scene is much more interesting than the love triangles of Bollywood.

In 2012, Anna Hazare started a protest against corruption which soon turned into a nationwide revolution. I was happy to see such a revolution taking place. It was a sign that the people had had it enough.

The upshot of this revolution was formation of a new political party, headed by Mr. Arvind Kejriwal. The basis of this party was the idea that to change the system, you have to be a part of the system. I was again happy that there was a party which had anti-corruption as one of their major agendas. I was also happy to know that we might just well have another option which we could bank on to wipe out corruption.

Yes, I am happy that AAP is formed and is emerging to be a formidable force. But then, when I go out to vote, I don’t want to give my vote to AAP. Yes, I do want corruption to be uprooted, but my vote is precious.

I get an opportunity to vote only once in five years. Why I don’t want to vote AAP is-

1. In the past, it has been easy to form political parties, but how many of them have survived? Most of them have had differences within, and have split further or have been dissolved with existing national parties. Will AAP pass this test?

2. Even if AAP sustains itself as a political party, how is it going to grow in the next five years? Will they stick to their noble policies or with time they will be any other party or just another party? What vision, ideology and principles will AAP carry if they were to sustain themselves in dirty politics for a period of five years?

3. Is AAP realistic? AAP has been talking about reforms and change in the system. Yes, it’s the need of the hour. But is AAP bringing the right change? Will public assemblies and referendums on some strategic decisions work? Will they prove themselves that they can indeed run a government with populist decisions like free water and subsidized electricity, without making any damage to the state exchequer and the economy? Simply put, how is AAP going to fare during their tenure in Delhi?

4. What is AAP’s stand on economic growth, foreign policies, defense, Indo-Pak relations, LOC issues and various other issues of national significance?

I won’t write them off right away. They have dared to take the difficult path anyways. But, having answers to these four questions will be a decisive factor. The answers will only come after the elections. For me, the best time to decide about voting for AAP would be the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. For this election, all I can give them is my best wishes!