Government formation at Delhi: Litmus test for the AAP
- Sangai Express Editorial :: December 21 , 2013 -
Living up to the adage of the understanding that nothing is certain in politics. As things have turned out, the acid test for the Aam Aadmi Party was not the election to the Delhi Legislative Assembly per se but the question of Government formation.
As things stand now, or more precisely at the moment this commentary is being written, reports have come in that Arvind Kejriwal has hinted at the possibility of the AAP forming the Government with outside support from the Congress.
Likely to form the Government.
This is the line, a single line, but which could go a long way in the deciding where the AAP would stand in the years to come.
For the Congress it has nothing to lose for its first priority is to stop a BJP led Government coming to power at Delhi.
The hint given by Mr Kejriwal to form the Government obviously has to do with the 'opinion' it sought from the public but as pointed out by some news channels as well as newspapers, the people of Delhi have already given their verdict and that verdict is clear.
A hung Assembly, it is, but it should not be forgotten that it is not the AAP which emerged the single largest party but the BJP.
A more than enough indication that the AAP did not succeed in selling its ideas to majority of the voters in Delhi.
True the AAP did manage to teach a lesson to the Congress and others and it is here that it should not be forgotten that the lesson is something which is more important than Mr Kejriwal or the AAP forming the Government with outside support from the Congress.
There is a sea of difference between an astounding showing at the hustings and getting the unquestioned mandate of the people to form the Government.
The AAP succeeded in putting up a stellar show on its debut in electoral politics, but the fact stands that it has fallen short of getting the mandate of the voters to form the Government.
It is this which the party should not overlook.
It is not that India has not seen a minority Government before and refusing to learn any lesson from the experiences of minority Governments of the past will amount to committing political hara-kiri for the AAP.
The then Chandrashekhar led Government at the Centre should be a fitting example.
The desire to break the impasse over Government formation at Delhi is understandable, but if the AAP is looking towards a long innings, then a rethink should be given to the hints by Mr Kejriwal that it may form the Government with outside support from the Congress.
The best thing for the AAP would be to stick to a stand, a stand that it respects the verdict of the people and would rather sit on the Opposition.
Or if the idea of a fresh poll is unappealing to them, then it should throw the ball at the court of the other parties and offer to extend outside support, under certain conditions.
Why not extend support to the BJP ? Or why not let the Congress lead the Government with the AAP extending support ? The situation is certainly dicey, but if the AAP goes ahead and form the Government with outside support from the Congress, the possibility of digging its own political grave yard cannot be discounted.
The lesson that the AAP has scripted should not be lost in the maze of Government formation and this is being said for the good of the party.
* Comments posted by users in this discussion thread and other parts of this site are opinions of the individuals posting them (whose user ID is displayed alongside) and not the views of e-pao.net. We strongly recommend that users exercise responsibility, sensitivity and caution over language while writing your opinions which will be seen and read by other users. Please read a complete Guideline on using comments on this website.