The Delhi Debate

A lot has been written about the AAP already and I too congratulate them on the wins. In fact, it is needless to mention that we all are proud of them. However, Delhi voted for governance and not a logjam. Therefore AAP should either take or offer support from BJP to form the govt. (even an outside support works and everything said and done, most of the people of Delhi voted for the BJP ) and put out a public notice of issues that they won't compromise on. This will respect people's verdict and not compromise AAP's political character. We can use the taxpayers' money for better purposes than a re-election. The likes of Kumar Vishwas are already losing their "humble" demeanour and they will be well advised not to fall into the lusty trap of realpolitik.

Re-election

The amount that the election commission has put as the upper limit for the candidates to campaign for the election is Rs. 14 lakh. Given the number of candidates in the 70 constituencies, the figure of the ‘permissible’ limits come out to be somewhere around 113 crores (so I found on a few news channels). We all know that the permissible limits is way off the actual spending that is incurred. The setting up of election machinery, security personnel etc. are also a disruption of normal life to an extent. It’s good to exercise our right to elect a government, however, surely not so frequently.

The way forward

The BJP has received the maximum support of the people of Delhi to form the government. Dr. Harshvardhan looks like a humble servant that Delhi has been looking for. Unlike a Vijay Goel, Mr. Harsvardhan looks like a man of the masses and not of Lutyen’s Delhi alone. So, 4 more seats and we have a stable government in the national capital. However, we have a hung assembly. AAP has won hearts and votes in Delhi and performed well enough to quip back to Sheila Dixit who infamously snapped “Bewakoof hain na hum," when asked if she underestimated the Aam Aadmi Party. Following are the options for the BJP and AAP. The Congress does not find a mention because there is a clear mandate from the people and the message very clear – “We do not like the Congress”.

The options :

1. The BJP sagaciously offers to support the AAP from the outside and promise them a 5 years’ term (obviously including a list of things that they would like to see for a better Delhi). This way AAP gets a chance to form the government and the BJP can show at a national level their intent to facilitate the formation a corruption free government. Strategically also, you will then have routed Congress from Delhi for another decade at the least.
2. The AAP supports the BJP from the outside and acknowledges the mandate of the people of Delhi in favour of the BJP. They also come out with a list of initiatives that they want the government to work upon such as the Jan Lokpal Bill in the very form that they wanted it to be introduced.
3. The AAP and the BJP join hands in an alliance with a common minimum program that takes the best of both worlds and does not compromise of any ideologies that these parties claim to uphold. (Something that Kiran Bedi has also suggested)
4. AAP should let the BJP form the government by abstinence in the favour of a stable government. In case things go wrong and the BJP turns out no different to the Congress, then you can always ask them to prove their majority on the floor of the house. In that case a re-election will be justified because the government would have gone against a few of the principles that it was expected to uphold. 

The AAP’s leftist demeanour has irked me into wishing that they remain good with Delhi alone at the current moment. That is a separate discussion altogether, I understand, however, the cause of nation building is more than just the winning of the seats. How you help form the government is a classic test of your respect for the voters. I write this knowing full well that a re-election will put in place a majority government. 

This surely is an interesting phase in Delhi, a city that has been the center of politics for a long time  – be it in the medieval India or in the contemporary India.