UNHOLY ALLIANCE: AAM ADMI PARTY & CONG

Delhi has already created history in India’s electoral politics by voting for a debutant political outfit – the Aam Admi Party in a big way that surprised everyone. Now a new chapter is likely to be written in case Arvind Kejriwal forms Government next week with the support of 8 MLAs of the Congress. A formal decision to this effect is to be made by Monday next, according to Kejriwal.

There is nothing wrong in forming government with the support of other political parties since we are in coalition era of politics. But never before a political party which contested elections on the plank of fighting corruption in public life has agreed to join hands with the same party it challenged in the elections to come into power. It is like J Jayalalitha of the AIADMK forming government with the support and help of her arch rival M Karunanidhi of the DMK and vice versa. The Aam Admi Party staged a drama by first saying it would neither extend support to nor it would take support from either the Congress or the BJP in the government forming exercise. But now Kejriwal and his team have gone for taking the opinion of the people who supported and voted for them in the Delhi assembly elections. It conducted so called referendum through SMS (Short Message Service) asking its supporters if AAP should form the government with the help of the Congress. Majority of people who responded to the query want Kejriwal to form Government in Delhi. it is not simply forming the government but the supporters of AAP want Kejriwal and his team to deliver which is possible only when AAP comes to power.

By Monday next Kejriwal would announce the decision of his Party whether he has accepted the invitation of the Lt. Governor or not to form the government.

What kind of Government it would be? Kejriwal has declared to probe corruption charges against outgoing Congress chief minister Shiela Dixit. Will the Congress allow any investigation against its former chief minister? The answer is it will not.

Kejriwal in a televised interview has said that once he comes to power “ virodhiyon ko arrest karoonga” ( will arrest opponents). This is the mindset of the leader who dreams to transform the society, the political system and the country with the band of magic. For Kejriwal, the band is ‘aam admi’ and he is the magician a la P C Sorkar.

One does not have to go deep into India’s modern political history post 1977. The Congress Party in 1996 propped up the United Front Government after the defeat of the Atal Behari Vasjpayee Government in which the CPI also joined the government headed by H D Deve Gowda. Gowda was succeeded by Inder Gujral but the government did not last long and it fell. Before that the Congress supported a hopelessly minority Government of Chandra Shekhar and then within 4 months it pulled the government down in 1990-91. Earlier, after the split in Janata Party, Morarji Desai Government fell on the floor of the Lok Sabha in 1979 and Chaudhary Charan Singh was propped as Prime Minister by the Congress. Charan Singh was the only Prime Minister of India who did not face  Lok Sabha since the Congress Party withdrew its support on the eve of Parliament Session in January 1980 forcing fresh general elections which saw return of Indira Gandhi as Prime Minister.

One wonders how many days or months the Aam Admi Party Government headed by Arvind Kejriwal would last in case it decides to assume power with the help of the Congress Party.

~R. K. Sinha