AAP, Indore and ground-level “politics”..
Over the past few weeks, as I have struggled to be responsive and keep track of my commitments, several friends and well-wishers have asked me what exactly am I doing in Indore and how am I engaging with AAP. Â This post is an attempt to explain what has kept me busy the last few weeks….I am also going to use this as a placeholder for your suggestions on what else should I be doing – bearing in mind my limited capacity, resources and other constraints (mainly time).
First, a few words on my current activities and engagement with Aam Aadmi Party. Â This is happening at two levels: on the ground in Indore where – among other things – I have also applied to be considered as a candidate for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and at the policy level in New Delhi, where I have offered to contribute & be involved in policy groups working on various topics and themes. In particular, I have volunteered to contribute to the discussions/ policy positions on foreign policy, national security, SMEs and entrepreneurship. I have also shared my thoughts on the Food Security Bill, “Water” and J&K. In addition, I have offered help with fund-raising and campaign planning (this, in MP).
In Indore, I have been engaged in fairly regular and intense meetings with friends, acquaintances, well-wishers and – most importantly – Â AAP supporters and sympathizers (& some critics too). I have been learning a lot from all these interactions. Not least about on-the-ground realities and deep systemic issues (e.g. no respect for law and no fear of consequences for breaking it) but also the barriers to developing a critical understanding of policy (and governance).
I am also trying to spend as much time as possible with the young volunteers, supporters & members of AAP, trying to engage them meaningfully in conversations on issues of policy or critical national importance. Some of these meetings and interactions have been very rewarding, e.g. a recent meeting in a lower-income neighbourhood of Indore where I actually managed to convince the residents why accountability matters, why government should not run schools and why subsidies can sometimes do more harm than good (leading to perverse usage patterns, a sense of dependency and an ‘entitlement’ mentality).
As you can imagine, not all of this is a path of roses, but then they only exist in story-books, don’t they?!
Hopefully, this is the beginning of a long and meaningful engagement with AAP and validation of my decision to take the plunge. For now though, I am giving it all I have – and my best…Do you think there are other initiatives & activities I should be engaged in?  Pl do share your thoughts/ comments below. Jai Hind, Jai Bharat!
Related Posts: The Birth of a Political Start-up & Taking the Plunge.., On Dharnas and Governance: Views of an “Aam†supporter and Some memories from the past few days in Indore…
As always, my suggestion is not to trivialise politics by stamping all politicians as crooks. AAP must take a reasoned stance that some of the present politicians are good; and many others could be useful (for the society/country) in right environment. Further, AAP should give priority to strengthening democratic institutions that have been destroyed in last 10 years. The biggest contribution AAP could make in this area would be on the appointment of Governors, Lokpals, and other constitutional positions.
> why subsidies can sometimes do more harm than good
Then why AAP promised free power, water, etc to the voters of New Delhi?
> e.g. no respect for law and no fear of consequences for breaking it)
Arvind Kejriwal can sit on Rajpath 1 week before Republic Day to defend his Minister who acted like a goonda!
Why so many U-turns? Instead of concentrating on improving the lives of citizens of New Delhi, why AAP is plunging into Loksabha elections?
You very well know that AAP cannot get majority. It cannot win even 100 seats. And the votes that AAP will get is the vote of educated people, youngsters and middle-class. This is where the BJP also gets its votes. Now, if AAP snatches votes of BJP, then who is going to benefit!? I think, I don’t need to explain – AAP will not win 100 seats, BJP votes will get split & hence it will also not get necessary numbers to form government and UPA will return to power of 3rd Front will spring up! Is this the plot that AAP has drawn or Congress?
Why do you want to take back the country to the days of 1991?
I am following your writing for a long time and I know that you have very good intentions. But, I am surprised to see that you are supporting AAP to jump into Loksabha elections!
Great to read this update Shantanu. Firstly, all the best with the candidature application!
Secondly heartened to read that you are fully devoted to being a central part of this new party. Having heard your ideas several times, I am glad to see that there now seems to be an appropriate platform for you to test some of these out. Most importantly your ability to get involved in the policy making initiative must be an empowering experience. This is precisely the route to changing the nation you have been expounding for the last few years – don’t stand on the sidelines and criticise…get in and get involved!
Also happy to read that you haven’t let your disagreement about AAP’s tactics in Delhi (dharna) impact your overall involvement. The party is new, the positions of power are new and mistakes/misjudgements are bound to happen. I do not doubt the intentions of the party and hence am glad that likeminded, concious and able citizens like you continue to be involved with the movement.
Continue to wish you all the best with your efforts and energy in the next few months!
Rohit
Nice Shantanu ji!
You could speak and write publicly (in natioinal media) more often, perhaps on subjects of your interest and expertise as you have indicated above.
Does AAP allow free thoughts/personal opinions – even if they may differ significantly from formal AAP policy or Arvind’s views etc?
All the best!
Cross posted from Sanjeev’s blog.
For the society to work really well, you need honest businessmen making lots of profits and honest politicians and bureaucrats earning a high salary.
I think a tragedy has set in with there being so much corruption and richly deserved demonisation of current businessmen and politicians, the indian populace may be simply incapable of imagining honest versions of the same.
India had one chance to escape this with the AAP. The AAP really screwed up on this issue. If they had taken the “high salary- no perks-no lal batti” route, it would have radically altered the rhetoric in the country. Alas, they continue to pray at the altar of “low salary and politics as selfless service”.
Try to atleast get them adopt the Rs. 20 per vote funding idea of state sponsoring of elections that sanjeev wrote. It could be something that looks radically different from what anyone is offering.
Hope you get into the state and national level policy teams. We need thinkers like you.
But even you disagree with aap on some things it is the best and most open platform there is as of now in the country.
In a political party ultimately it is not possible to be a ideologue but without any vested interest as of now and a open entry system the canvas for aap to bring real change is the biggest.
Yeah they do tamasha and dramebà azi but atleast they dont resort to dirty tricks violence and vandalism others do.
Now coming back to change they can bring. Lets look at the past 2/3 days where india was without a flag in the olympics and bcci / srinivasan tangle report came. sporting bodies in this country are a sham and so is the state of so many sports and sportspeople.
Aap doesnt have baggage in that area and can set things right immediately. While bjp/congress have top leaders all hogging these bodies in collabration and making it a closed ship. And these even includes mr. Modi.
Dear Shantanu,
I came across your blog for the first time today. I read “About Me†and “Coming out of the Closetâ€. As I was reading the second, I could feel your passion for the country and was wondering what you may think of the AAP movement, because the movement resonated very much with your views. Then I read your blog saying you had joined the movement. I was about to wish you well when I read your post saying you had quit and it made me very sad.
More than the party and the leadership team, I feel very strongly about this movement, as India really needs to fight corruption and work for more power to the people. After all, it is a movement of the common people, of all of us. It is people like you and me who have to make it a success. If you had to quit, does it mean we Indians cannot work together as a team on the most critical problem of the country?
We need to understand that they really got into time pressure and need to strike it hot for the Lok Sabha elections now rather than wait for another 5 years. They were forced by circumstances (and to some extent by the opposition and common people) into a very disadvantaged situation of a minority govt. When they were running the govt, the common man who was sleeping all these years and turning a blind eye to all the sins of the politicians suddenly became hyper active and demanded the sky from AAP. They were under tremendous pressure to perform in very adverse conditions (moreover the election code of conduct was coming). In such a situation, with so many different shades of people coming into the party in such a short time, such situation probably cannot be avoided.
After all, like Naseruddin Shah used to say in Manthan “Sisoti aapni hai, aapniâ€, we can say “Aam Admi party aapni hai, aapniâ€. It is not AAP versus the Corrupt System, it is we Indians vs. corruption. If AAP cannot form a cohesive group, it means we Indians cannot form a cohesive group to work in harmony. If there are problems, it is people like you and I who have to own it as “our problem†and try to solve them. I would still request you to please work for the movement, as every Indian needs to own the movement and participate. Otherwise the movement cannot succeed. The party is not important, the movement is.