How does one quell the ranks of men led by Narendra Modi? Surely, this must be upper most in the minds of Arvind Kejriwal and the Congress, both of whom suffered a humiliating defeat in the Delhi municipal corporation polls. The BJP won 181 of a total of 270 seats. The Aam Aadmi Party scored a miserable 38 while the Congress fared even more badly and was able to win only 30. Clearly, for AAP, the day of reckoning has arrived.
The MCD polls were different because they had a national angle to them. There was much at stake. The BJP had suffered its worst defeat to AAP in the Assembly polls two years ago and it was waiting to extract revenge. AAP was attempting to spread its wings and a win would have strengthened it. The Congress, having tasted victory in Punjab and in Goa (it was unable to form government in Goa because of serious leadership failure) was hoping a victory in Delhi would bring more relief.
The result was a wake-up call for AAP and its mercurial leader. Delhi is the birth place of AAP. It was born out of an agitation against the establishment and after the assembly election it became the establishment. It seems that AAP has still not got used to the idea of being in power. It had a running war with the Centre over power-sharing. Here, Modi proved to be a formidable opponent who thwarted Kejriwal at every twist and turn in the journey. Technically, the Delhi government is a glorified municipal corporation with practically all power vested in the Centre. This position was emphasized by the courts as well. And it is this imbalance of power that fueled Kejriwal’s two-year fight with Modi. The problem is, the electorate got fed-up with this constant bickering.
In hindsight it might be right to say that AAP lost its moorings the day it got rid of Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan. What it is left with is a political party shaped in the image of Kejriwal and the problem with this kind of an organisation is that it stands only as long as the leader can ensure electoral victories. The MCD elections are a pointer to what can happen three years from now if APP does not learn from this defeat. And the lesson to be learnt is that it has to become more positive, do more work and stop targeting Modi, who has emerged as the champion of the poor, post demonitisation. The Prime Minister is at present the tallest leader in the country and attacking him only makes him stronger. The MCD polls are not only a lesson for AAP, but also the Congress which is still struggling to write an alternative political narrative. Perhaps, what Delhi needs is less of Kejriwal and more of the original AAP.
