The Birth of a Political Start-up & Taking the Plunge..
I have been busy. Not the as usual “busyâ€, but as the posh socialite would say, “busy, busyâ€. The last couple of weeks have been an incredible whirl of meetings, long discussions and calls. It is very rare for a political event to resonate with my other fascination – entrepreneurship. But I believe we just witnessed the beginning of a remarkable experiment in political entrepreneurship in these last few weeks. We have witnessed the birth of a political start-up, the first for anyone below 40 in India.
The start-up is of course Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Like many others who have been involved in political activism, I had been closely tracking AAP since its formation last November. But to be honest, I did not think it would be anywhere close to making a profound impact. Around late August-early September, I began to change my views. By October, I was convinced that the group is going to make a fairly significant impact in the elections in Delhi.
But what happened on 8th December was beyond belief. It was simply spectacular.
As I wrote on my facebook page,
..we are witnessing a “grand experiment unfold before us..We are fortunate to be around in these times and fortunate to witness this amazing dance of the world’s largest democracy first-hand..
More fortunate are those who are participating in this directly…Over the next few days (or at most a few weeks), I will have to make a decision too – whether to be one of the audience cheering from the sidelines or to take the plunge and join the chorus!
I have now decided to take the plunge – and be an active participant in the chorus. I have formally applied for membership of AAP.
I have made this decision fully aware of our differences; fully aware that convergence of views will be a long drawn process; fully aware that some might view this as a “betrayalâ€. I am going to try and not get distracted by the barbs that are sure to follow, the questioning of motives, the innuendos, the insinuations and the sarcasm.  The “perfect†is the enemy of the “goodâ€. For now, I have decided to be on the side of “goodâ€.
AAP is where the grand “political experiment†is happening. In times like these, there are few places where I would rather be than here. In this experiment, AAP has successfully managed to challenge the “rules of the game†– and long established truisms of current-day politics in India. The notion of “win-abilityâ€, of caste arithmetic, of “vote banks†or money and muscle power. This out to be celebrated – for the same reason I celebrated Shashi Tharoor’s win three years back even though he won on a Congress ticket. AAP has given an entire generation hope. And I think everyone who wishes for change in India must seriously consider engaging with this new experiment as it unfolds.
We are fighting the larger war here and I believe it is important for the good forces to consolidate. The two “mainstream†parties have been practically indistinguishable in terms of campaign tactics, strategies and candidates. Caste arithmetic, well-timed sops and grand announcements continue to define campaigning. Candidate selection remains opaque. Money flows freely. I experienced all of this (and more), first-hand in the recent assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh. The usual justification for all this is: “This is how politics is done in India.â€
And even though Sh Modi is trying hard to change this, his fight with the “establishment†in BJP is far from over. I remain – as before – extremely skeptical of BJP’s ability to change at the fundamental level (beyond a change at the top).
AAP has just shown us all another way of doing “politicsâ€. As with most political parties, I am sure it’s policies will evolve with time. And I believe the direction they take is more likely to be influenced by “insiders†than those outside the party. I hope I can be one of the “insidersâ€.
These are risks I am conscious of, risks I am taking on willingly, particularly since I see little hope in any of the incumbent “mainstream†parties to undergo radical transformation. And little prospect of any of the emerging groups making a significant impact in the near term.
As for the BJP, in spite of Sh. Modi, my publicly stated opposition to its “collusion” with the rotten system remains in place. The big difference between my stance in July and today is that instead of “one man†who has a fighting chance of making Congress history, today we have two. One remains the front-runner to lead India. It is time to work with the other. Time for the good forces to converge and find common ground rather than argue about policy matters (on which differences exist). Time to join hands in our common quest for a “different†kind of politics. Time to prepare together for the “Long Warâ€.
In the end, AAP’s focus on challenging the rotten system is reason enough for me to work with them, regardless of all our other differences.
Over the next few days and weeks, as I begin to engage with the party, I hope the contours of my involvement will become clearer. For now, I am excited to embark on this journey. Stay tuned! Jai Hind, Jai Bharat!
P.S. I am on vacation over the next few days so will be slow in responding to comments on this post. Thanks for your patience during this time. I shall aim to respond to each of you once I am back.
This post was cross-posted over at ToI blogs.
Update: Pl see this post on my resignation from AAP in Feb ’14.
Thank you so much sir! AAP needs people like you. I have lots of relative in Indore. I will request them all to campaign for you, and will do whatever it takes to see people like in in parliament, for which we have lots of respect.
My views on AAP, and why I think that Support of Aam Aadmi is not Unconditional to Aam Aadmi Party
http://viewonlifeandart.blogspot.in/2013/12/support-of-aam-aadmi-is-not.html
Please go ahead with full confidence. Wish you all the best!
I am really disappointed. I have been following your blog for many years now. Your alliance jut seems like that of AAP with Cong, excuse me!
Your stated positions are quite at variance with, if not outright contradictory with those of Kejriwal’s. He is full of rhetoric and hyperboles which he hurriedly retracts or tries to re-interpret at leisure.
Sir, this does not inspire confidence…either you get carried away too quickly, or you have changed. If the latter, what brought about this change?
Your long posts on Hinduism, Bharat, free enterprise and our culture and history do not quite match with your new neighbourhood…
If you had floated your own party it would have been thousand times better…
Dear Shantanu,
As someone who has followed your blog since ~4 years, and has been a fan since then, naturally am hurt that someone of your IQ and understanding is choosing to go forward with anarchists.
http://kalchiron.blogspot.in/2013/12/imperium-3-stages-of-subversion.html
Your basic thought process is in natural alignment with BJP. No sense wasting time with AAP.
http://surajitdasgupta.blogspot.in/2013/12/khaas-aadmi-party.html
Welcome to AAP sir.
Bravo!
Perfect is the enemy of Good.
Well put.. Am super glad to see you taking this decision..
More good people need to be like you in this respect.
Wishing the best for our country!
Jai Hind!
Hi Shantanu,
As I see AAP, it is a Center / Center Left leaning party which has some pretty hard ideas about religion / indianness, which as Bharat here says is not in alignment with your ideas of Swaraj, which are essentially right leaning.
I wish you luck and hope to see you keep left in the busy lane of todays politic 🙂 Have a great time, Jaya has already filled forms and joined AAP, and she looks forward to contribute more time to this experiment.
Dear Shantanu,
I met you at your Entrepreneurship workshop in MVIT Bangalore.
When I asked you about the possibility of you collaborating with Mr. Kejriwal; you had dismissed the idea stating that Mr. Kejriwal had more of socialist ways.
Without doubts of Mr. Kejriwal’s good intention, I sincerely believe that multiple goods can coexist and support each other. While I have had no direct interaction with Mr. Kejriwal, You are the one who has influenced me to the extent that I was just a whisker short of signing up with your political party.
I sincerely believe that there would be lot of ideological differences in the future between you and AAP.
One of the post from FTI site just caught my attention and sums up the reason I am writing this to you,
http://freedomteam.in/content/why-shantanu-bhagwat-is-100-times-better-than-arvind-kejriwal
Think about it!
I have been telling a lot of people a lot about Shantanu Bhagwat.
“Reclaiming India†– One Step at a Time.”
We can still do it a step at a time and a giant leap just might not be a good idea.
Regards,
Akash Kakkar
Hi Shantanu,
Congratulations. Now is the time to take the plunge to make the change, recognizing the differences we still have with AAP.
Regards
Ash
Shantantu
I will just say it is bad decision and congress has used divide and rule policy which it mastered over period of time and looks like it is successful again as you said we have 2 parties which can fight congress.
Second AAP is not different when it talk of free water, low cost electricity and more schools. It should more focus on cleansing system easiest way is to ensure clean governance and ensuring corruption cases move faster.
Cheers
Uday Gokhale
Dear All: Thank you very much for airing your views and concerns.. Copying the comment I just posted on the fb page…
Two requests:
1] Pl do read the post in full to understand the context
2] Pl wait until I am back from vacation in first week of Jan to read my response to your comments…
If after that, you still feel like “Unsubscribing” from the page, I shall respect your decision and hope that you will come back soon…
As I just wrote in an email to a friend, I am going to focus on training the youngsters in AAP on certain fundamental liberal principles, free-market ideas & issues like J&K, Education System & of course Corruption!
I should say I am going to *try* because I have no idea how easy/difficult it is going to be..
I shall of course keep you all posted…For now, wish me luck!
P.S. There may be a delay in my responses since I am on vacation until the year-end.
P.P.S. Re. the BJP, I would simply like to mention my deep & continuing sense of disappointment about the party’s inability to change and respond to evolving expectations & circumstances…
That said, I will be very happy to explore ways in which all of us together (regardless of which party we belong to) can contribute to make 2014 a landmark election in terms of “good politics”, transparent funding, high calibre of candidates & spirited debates on substantive issues – That after all, is the true aim of all “Desh-Bhaktas”..
Sorry, forgot to add that I will respond to ALL the comments once I am back from vacation and on a good internet connection..
thanks
My latest tweet (& of relevance to this thread): Finlly, my core beliefs remn intct: Nation First, Individual Freedom, Equality of Opportunity.
I am noone, but I will continue to respect you and will follow your blog in future. unfortunately I will not be able to wish you good luck, because any win for AAP will result in less seat for NDA and will put us under UPA-3. So while I respect your decision to take the plunge, I sincerely hope that BJP doesn’t loose a seat to congress because of narrow few hundreds/thousands of their vote that instead went to you/AAP. I also hope that when you work out the differences, you would change AAP than you getting changed. Thank you.
Dear Shantanu,
I am glad that you have taken the plunge. I would be equally happy if you would have joined any other party. We at FTI, have for too long looked for idealistic situations and have done nothing. With this step, I am sure, you will be a big influence on AAP’s policies and steer them towards liberalism. With no legacy at all, AAP has the best chance to reform compared to other parties. Even if they call themselves socialists and practice liberalism, it would be just great. I am afraid this is the only way out because we Indians have become so obsessed with socialism that no body wants to listen to any thing else.
Best of Luck.
Narendra Sethia
I hope you must have thought this through. If you succeed in spreading classic liberal thoughts through the AAP, more power to you. I’m not optimistic, but wish you the best of luck.
Any simple answer to the question – Why not JP’s Lok Satta?
Time to unfollow you now… sorry do not agree with AAP.
Dear Shantanu,
I have always appreciated your socio-political activism at the cost of your personal profession/career.
At the end of the day, do you believe that AAP could do similar magic at national level in 2014, similar to what it achieved in New Delhi this month? If YES, then i’ve nothing to say and wish you all the best!
If NO, then in a triangular contest at national level AAP only stands to eat into anti-incumbency votes, resulting in fractured mandate, coalition politics and mayhem that ensues. I guess this is not what you are hoping for, at least I’m not!
A team is known by the leader and their stated goals. You may think at ground level (though limited) that congress and BJP are indistinguishable when it comes to electoral politics. But if you take a quick glance at history & track record of state/central govts offered by BJP and congress, who do you think stand to serve the nation better? If you & AAP are only going to end up having the nation brace for the worse …..
Thank you for your time.
Shantanu, on your comment on making Congress a history, I am afraid = this is just too pompous. There may be many ills with Cong and many things that needs to be fixed, but the same holds good for our politics….. So comments such as making Cong history is not just naive, but more so pompous. The road is still very hard and long, keep your energies up and focus on addressing aam aadmi issues!
Otherwise I wish you all the best with the new association. I actually welcome your association with AAP. I haev been saying this for sometime, we need new political parties and politicians such as Arvind Kejriwal and yourself to come into mainstream!
Shantanu, You will need to give us details of why you have chosen to align yourself with the B team of Congress. It’s backed by commies who want to continue current policies of restricting freedom and going for central control. AAP has so far worked to keep BJP out of power and is a part of the divide and rule politics. What a let down.
Shantanu:
If I understand you correctly, you like the idea of AAP and are hopeful that you can influence AAP to wean it away from its left of center economic, and quite bizarre utterances on national & internal security.
A reason you cited was that in the MP elections both parties played by the same rules. And even though Modi is trying to change it, you feel it is not good enough.
I think it will behoove you to understand a bit about electoral dynamics in different parts of India. In Delhi, it was the urban middle class areas which voted for AAP; the erstwhile semi-rural areas voted BJP.
Do you really think that rural area are ready for AAP style politics, and go beyond identity based groups?
Why do you think that AAP with a narrow foot-print fueled by a lot of media publicity can bring about that systemic change?
Is the carefully constructed persona of a single man enough to influence the masses?
India is at a crucial junction; and one man has risen up to the challenge the existing system on a record of good governance. It is truly sad to see well-informed people like you dump a known performer for a person who has so far broken almost all promises he had made regarding his role in politics.
All you will ensure that is the Congress and the dynasty survives to roar back in the next election cycle or two.
Truly disappointed and saddened.
You have been a great source of inspiration. I am just an admirer who has heard you speak on multiple occasions. All I can say, is that I feel disappointed. The chicanery represented by AAP, in giving space to anti-nationals, is what will continue to confront me. Sad to see the establishment virus spreading in the name of reforms.
AAP on a national spectrum is impracticable
we dont need dreams we seek ground changes,AAP shall fail here at national level
NAMO is the only,repeat only option or else we go back by years if not a decade
Really glad to read this Shantanu! This looking forward to seeing how the dream develops from here!
All the best.
Sen brothers support AAP. That is enough for me. I gather, it is also supported by some Islamic fellow. I left India nearly 50 years ago.
I am a proud Hindu. I like to see Hindus in India have equal rights.
Goodbye to you.
Dr. Dipak Chakrabarti.
UK & Madeira.
I wonder if this is too early to join AAP. Let AAP *prove* themselves in Delhi first. Lets assess their policies, not rhetoric. If they do well, they can be supported in 2019. For 2014, i think its better to give Modi a clear mandate and chance.
Really nice to read your opinions. Check out my opinion on Kejriwal as a person rather than politician,
http://roadsideindia.blogspot.in/2013/12/the-kejriwal-factor.html
I thought you were going to start an intelligent right wing Hindu nationalist party which we, your blog followers, could all join. I guess we’ll have to settle for the dinosaur that is the BJP. Maybe it will grow a brain.
I am very disappointed. AAP is the second front of the Congress. AK is an opportunistic snake oil salesman .He dumped Anna hazare and had deals with Islamist prior to Delhi election. His promises are no different to freebies offered by Jayalalitha or MK. We Hindus are so gullible and fall for this back stabber. Can you give a good reason why the media is going gaga on this guy? You should know who owns the Indian media. Yes, we have problems with BJP a and hopefully NaMo will sort them out. AAP is going to be an obstacle as it will be eating into the votes of BJP . You are not helping the cause either. First priority is get rid of the UPA once and for all. Send Sonia packing with the dumbo prince back to Italy minus their loot.
Just saw Prashant Bhushan inviting Udaykumar of Kudankullam protest to join AAP. The invitation was to all activists. I am not surprised. Isn’t he the guy who questioned Kashmir as a part of India. Here we go — a party of activists. All it needs is an Arundhati roy, Medha Patkar and Teesta Seltavad, and we can kiss the India story goodbye. If MS was unable to get Jairam Ramesh and Jayanthi Natarajan to clear projects, good luck in getting Prashant to. All I have seen him do was talk of crony capitalism. I think that it is the capitalism he is against, and he’d be perfectly okay with crony socialism of the 1970’s.
Good luck friend. Hope you come out of the revolving door a wiser man.
Good luck with your membership application. I hope that one succeeds.
I would like your opinion on the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s choice of transport medium. I would have thought that using a Car would have cut down on his travel time and allowed him to devote more of it to public cause. Currently, it seems he is just trying to do the populist thing and ignoring his own health, and consequently, compromising public good.
Do you agree with his travel choice? Would you raise that issue in AAP party if admitted to the party?
The choice of transport was humble, the venue of oath taking and the manner and venue of oath taking was not.
Just wanted to add something that I could not in my initial post above.
But I notice that @VikramS at #20 above has already said that.
At the risk of your reprimand I just want to repeat that with my own emphasis –
India is at a crucial junction; and one man has risen up to the challenge the existing system on a record of good governance. It is truly sad to see well-informed people like you dump a known performer for a person who has so far broken almost all promises he had made regarding his role in politics.
All you will ensure that is the Congress and the dynasty survives to roar back in the next election cycle or two.
Hope you reply to this point. To me it is unthinkable that \you are helping the Dynasty, albeit indirectly!
Shantanu,
I have followed your work for years and I have nothing but immense respect and admiration for what you have done and what you continue to do. I have my doubts about the AAP but if it has inspired you, then I’m sure you have thought this through. I have seen Arvind Kejriwal speak and he may be exactly what Delhi/India needs. Time alone can tell whether he will prove to be a real AAM AADMI leader or just another politician. I wish you all the best for this brave new step.
CC
Dear All: Wishing all of you a very healthy, happy and prosperous 2014!
Thank you very much for your comments, thoughts and suggestions…As promised, I shall try and respond to all the points to the best I can…
I should first start by thanking those who have expressed appreciation, support and encouragement – and wished me well..The list is long – and on this post includes Sutikshan, Chinmay, Prashant, Anand. Aswhin, Narendra, Rohit, Nayrhit, NP Singh..
On to the other points, concerns:
@Praveen (#2): I have neither got carried away not changed..This was a deliberate, thoughtful decision. As I mentioned in one of my comments below, I am aware that there are considerable differences between us – but at this point, the focus on reinvigorating politics trumps these differences…This does not mean thy have disappeared but over time, I sincerely hope I can persuade members and volunteers to views that are closer to my long-held beliefs…
Let us wait for the outcome of this effort…I felt I should at least try before giving up the option altogether…
@Bharat (#3): Along with the anarchists are some fairly balanced people – and more importantly, a large number of youngsters, supporters and volunteers who are open to new ideas…that is where my focus will be…
I shall have a look at your links later today (have read Surajit’s post already)
@Akash (#7): This is not really a “giant leap”..That would be floating my own party (as someone mentioned in the comments). Only time will tell whether my decision was right or wrong..Until then, all I can ask you is to pl keep your faith and have some patience…Lets see where this road leads to..
@Uday (#9): Re. 2 parties to fight Congress, what I wrote was: “… instead of “one man†who has a fighting chance of making Congress history, today we have two”. Is that statement not correct? Think about it…As for AAP’s policies, I recognise their deficiencies and hope that I can work with them to change them…Fingers crossed…
@Nanda (#13): May I just mention to you that an AAP win of a seat need not be at the expense of BJP? It could be at the expense of Congress – as it happened in Delhi where the BJP actually won more seats.. So this argument may not hold. As for changing some of the policies, that is my hope too..
@Prakash (#15): Thanks Prakash..Fingers crossed.
@Shekhar (#17): Pl see my response to Nanda above. Almost every commentator predicted that AAP will eat into BJP’s vote share in Delhi but the party actually managed to increase its tally from 2008! A triangular contest may actually hasten Congress’ departure…
@Ashwin (#18): Point taken.
@ShivKumar (#19): I will repeat what I mentioned earlier re. “my deep & continuing sense of disappointment” with the BJP and its apparent inability to change and respond to evolving expectations & circumstances…
The harsh reality is that neither the Congress nor BJP today have any space for “clean politics” at the ground level (I can tell you this from personal experience of the recent assembly elections). Would you agree?
That said, I will be very happy to explore ways in which all of us together (regardless of which party we belong to) can contribute to make 2014 a landmark election in terms of “good politicsâ€, transparent funding, high calibre of candidates & spirited debates on substantive issues – That after all, is the true aim of all “Desh-Bhaktasâ€..
@VikramS (#20): Re. “Do you really think that rural area are ready for AAP style politics, and go beyond identity based groups?”, yes, I think they are…I believe we (on social media) are still stuck in the 90s mindset of vote-banks and caste-calculations…This is my belief but only time will tell..
As for the question re. “Is the carefully constructed persona of a single man enough to influence the masses?”, I can say the same about Sh Modi, right?
And as I repeatedly point out, don’t forget the loser in Delhi was Congress (from 41 to 8) not BJP (from 24 to 32). So the chance of dynasty roaring back are slim – in my humble opinion.
@Prahaar (#21): Pl see my response to Praveen, Bharat and Akash above…
@Dr Dipak (#24): Just a brief point. Like you, I too would “like to see Hindus in India have equal rights”. Sorry to see you leave.
@chaitanya (#25), Harapriya (#27) and Rama (#28): Only time will tell.
@Prakash, re. choice of transport (also security cover), yes, I would like to raise it internally, once I am in.
@Praveen (#33): No “risk of reprimand” – pl share your thoughts freely…As for helping Congress, this may actually be the last nail…Fingers crossed.
P.S. As I have mentioned elsewhere, my core beliefs remain intact: Nation First, Individual Freedom, Equality of Opportunity.
Thanks all for a spirited discussion…
I have been following the ‘behaviour’ of AAP closely with the aim of trying to judge what 2014 has in store for India. The first ‘crack’ has appeared surprisingly swiftly. The non-issue of Chief Minister’s residence seems to have castled Arvind Kejriwal. From the initially allotted Duplex 2*5 Bedroom house, he has decided to shift to a smaller one. He meekly tried to justify the former by claiming that it was smaller than Sheila Dixit’s Bungalow! The ministers have also taken to Innova’s and rather than be matter-of-fact about it, the whole AAP parivar, it seems to me, is being apologetic.
It will be easy to create more cracks and the mainstream parties will be quick to seize on the first clear sign of confusion. How soon some of the AAP leaders move from a goal of collective good to a narrower objective of personal progress is anyone’s guess. I hope AAP stays strong but I am beginning to have my own doubts.
If I were to hazard a wild guess, in a few years, AAP will be taken over by Bankers/Senior Managers/CEOs/Venture capitalists………
On AAP being a vote-splitter: fallacy of your Delhi logic is this: yes BJP will improve upon its tally from 2009 in Lok Sabha, and yes, its unlikely Cong will get enough to set up UPA3, but what may happen is that BJP may fall short of 250, needing ‘allies’, giving power to precisely those elements within the BJP that will look to undercut Modi, the only hope of proven governance And of reform in the BJP party longer term. So yes, BJP got 200 seats i.e do better, but India would have lost the war. The knives within BJP might get sharpened for Modi.
At that point, the well wishers of India have to pray that AAP is legit. If it isn’t, you will be left wondering why you couldn’t wait till 2015 to take your plunge, it was a free option, always available to you. A sacrifice of what few months, a year max? Is it that hard?
Shantanuji,
Thanks for the reply. I have only one comment to make, Bharat’s durbhagya has been that Bhishmas have more often than not ended up fighting for Duryodhanas rather than against them.
Hope to see you transform AAP into a Nation First. Always. outfit.
I hope you take any criticism for your actions/choices in positive spirit, since those who are disappointed with your choice, were having high hopes. So your critics may also be your most genuine supporters.
I am cynical about the APP and may stop reading your opinion in future. sincerely i believe that what one man is not been able to change internal function in BJP is same with you. People like you should stay from the active politics and give independent opinion.
Dear Sir
I had bookmarked your blog and used to read regularly. I am not sure I will have the same urge to read you anymore. Surprised with your decision to join AAP in such a hurry. Seems like you have misjudged the quick success of AAP to something more genuine. Looking at the development within AAP in the last few weeks, it appears to me that you are an odd addition to that group. I am afraid that in a year of so, you will be a bed fellow with dishonest socialists or divorce them. Hope I am proven wrong.
This is the point I made in the post above (see ” The big difference between my stance in July and today is that instead of “one man†who has a fighting chance of making Congress history, today we have two. “):
“We, however, believe that the AAP may decimate the Congress and actually work in favour of the BJP” http://j.mp/19tJZdz
Thanks CC, Prakash, Reddy, Prahaar, Dilli and Krishna: I shall respond to your points soon..
You have equated the BJP and Congress on a number of issues. You are right in every regard. Both are guilty. But there is a difference of scale and when we start viewing this, there is just no comparison. The levels of corruption in Congress are astronomical.
Secondly, you did not mention that while the parties seem similar on the issues you mentioned, but when it comes to national issues there is a big difference. The BJP if does not do spectacular in foreign policy, then at least does not fare pathetic. But Congress does not just parade India naked in an international humiliation, it is constantly selling the nation to the enemies.
When you figures in these differences, the two parties are not similar. They are very very different.
And while AAP is good on every issue you mentioned, on national issues it will outdo Congress itself. If the country ever gets into the hands of AAP, there will be no Kashmir, no North-East.
And this is why your decision, quite simply, has put me in pure shock!
@CC (#34) Sorry I missed responding to your comment earlier since I think it came in just as I had finished responding to others.. Thanks for your words of encouragement and supprt. I agree with you “Time” will have answers to many – if not all – our questions..Until then, we all do what we can (and what we feel is right).
@Prakash (#36); Fingers crossed.
@Prahaar (#38): Thanks for mentioning: “your critics may also be your most genuine supporters.” I see it the same way.
@Krishna Kumar (#40): Only time will tell.
Shantanu
To some extent you need to balance between politics (some friends called it Poli Tricks) and what is good for Nation?
I will say Narendra Modi was able to show inclusive growth ie manage Politics and still grow. To some extent other failed.
I felt Arvind Kejriwal and Akhilesh Yadav are lost opportunity. Any new role is same as what happen in Management school, first 90 days in company.
If you are able to bring change they take you long way. AK has become story of U Turn from
– Tamasha of going to Oath Ceremony in Metro
– Electric Bill story (As Finance person he should know econmonics better)
– To manage Prashant Bhushan
– Revolt from MLA
Now series of failed Political aspirants want to join you from Captain Gopinath, Mallika Sarabhai to name few.
For me AAP looks more of comedy show now than Governance.
Cheers
@Shantanu,
I do agree that AAP will grab the vote share of Congress, because it ‘looks’ like Congress. But sad thing is it has also started ‘behaving’ like the Congress.
Congress will most likely create an alliance with AAP and keep BJP again away from power.
This is the main concern of all your readers. This will be a very very sad state of affair, indeed.
To join up with a crowd that is in now way in consonance with the ideals that you espouse can only be an act of sheer opportunism. Right now the Congress-paid, left-dominated media is blowing AAP completely out of proportion with only one goal in mind… to keep Modi, BJP and nationalists out of power. So you will get some traction, maybe get a ticket easily, and given the hype you think you have a chance to win a seat, something that will not be easy with the BJP. But this is exactly where the “India First” attitude comes into play. One should not join the enemy just because one has the chance to play at general rather than remaining just another foot-soldier on the side of truth and dharma… for Satyam eva jayate, no?
Lord Fisher had said: “Inconsistency is the bug bear of silly asses”. If you equate BJP and Congress and side up with AAP which toadies up to the Congress you are simply siding with the elements who crave Petro Dollars – a euphemism for Terror Funding. THAT MAKES ME THINK YOU ARE BEING INCONSISTENT though I am not sure what your original political choice was. This is the first time I have opened this link but wasn’t impressed. What’s there to “celebrate” about Shashi Tharoor? That he prefers living in Five Star Hotels and attends parties in Dubai and more such rot that the media is raking up. That has showed your true predilections. I was damn suspicious about “Satyam” and sure enough it proved right. So “Satyameva Jayate†and all what it’s supposed to conjure up also puts me off.
Hi Shantanu,
I am echoing the sentiments that quite a lot of others have already expressed. I am simply disappointed at your decision. AAP is just a proxy for the KhanChris and their single point agenda is to stop Modiji at all costs. If you have not already seen through this ploy, then so much for your political acumen.
If you believe one man Modi can not change the BJP, then I wonder how one man Shantanu can change the policies of AAP.
I will not wish you good luck. You have betrayed no one except your own convictions – assuming that these were indeed your convictions in the first place.