Why Arvind Kejriwal’s willingness to introspect is the best decision he has taken in a long time
It’s time that AAP starts building something positive before the next election, else it won't be anywhere in the next elections.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) came into Indian politics with a bang in 2013, after it formed the government in Delhi. Arvind Kejriwal and his party were able to make the aam aadmi believe that the AAP government would provide a corruption free system.
The party had also vouched for good governance, however, Kejriwal decided to shatter the hopes of the common man by resigning from the post of the CM in just 49 days! That too after ‘sitting on dharnas’ to make his point despite being in power.
The people once again trusted the AAP in 2015 and it formed the government in Delhi with full majority, however, in two years, the Delhites feel that the Kejriwal government hasn’t done much for them. The party even lost the Punjab and Goa Assembly elections badly, despite claims and speculations that the AAP would win them.
Today, the party is facing a deep crisis. Trolls against the Delhi CM are increasing and even people have started dubbing him as a ‘drama queen’ who can go to any extent to play his politics. AAP has lost to BJP in MCD polls. Even the voters accept that BJP’s work in MCD has not been stellar in last 10 years, yet the voters preferred the saffron party over AAP.
Following the poll debacle in Punjab, Arvind Kejriwal had blamed the EVMs for the defeat, even after the MCD defeat, some AAP leaders did the same, but honestly, it’s time to wake up and smell the coffee.
Today in his tweet, the Delhi chief minister didn’t once blame faulty voting machines, conspiracies, or other parties for his humiliating losses in a string of elections.
“The reality is obvious. Yes, we made mistakes, but we will introspect and course correct…We owe that to voters and volunteers. We owe that to ourselves. Need is action and not excuses,” Kejriwal wrote today.
It is true that the AAP has committed many mistakes previously, however, if the Delhi CM is to be believed, then introspection will surely help the party and it could be Arvind Kejriwal’s best decision ever since he became an active politician.
There are some important points, which a political party and a political leader should always remember to survive, and the Delhi CM should definitely ponder over them.
The first point is to never underestimate the role of party workers. Often, all the limelight is stolen by either Kejriwal or Sisodia, also it is alleged that the major decisions come from them, without keeping anyone in loop. AAP’s party workers or cadre is not strong, they didn’t even get proper attention from the party high command. Kejriwal should understand that the cadre plays an important role in winning elections.
They should be confident about their leader. One of the reasons for Congress’ poor performance in 2014 general elections was the lack of this confidence in party workers for Rahul Gandhi. AAP had developed a very good team at the ground level, however, the party seems to have lost the connect with grass-root workers. There are social media fighters for the AAP, however, I don’t think there’s anyone fighting for the party in the real world!
The second point is that blaming others for your faults won’t help either Kejriwal or the AAP in surviving. Since the AAP government came to power, Delhi Police has arrested some 11 of the 67 AAP legislators on various charges ranging from rioting, sexual molestation, domestic violence, cheating and land grabbing, assaulting public servant and instigating the burning of a copy of the Quran.
Every time an AAP MLA has been arrested, the party has jumped to his or her defence. Kejriwal blames the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for all the ills.
Kejriwal will have to part ways if his leaders are not worth it! Defending your partymen is not wrong, but blaming people for your or party leaders illegal or corrupt activities is wrong. It is only affecting your image.
Another thing you need to keep in mind is the prior work done by party. During Delhi assembly election, AAP fought as a rookie, so this was not a factor. But after more than two years of running a state government, Kejriwal can’t expect people to treat AAP as a debutant. Previously, AAP ministers were accused of scams and money laundering. The Law Minster was found with fake law degree and Women & Child Development Minister was accused of sexual exploitation. All these things have made your anti-corruption stance a ‘jumla’.
To conclude, it can be said that Kejriwal should actually learn to accept mistakes. He and his party had almost made their minds that they’ll never accept mistakes.
Please ask yourself, are you not destroying your own image on social media? Tweeting about Modi and blaming him for each and everything cannot create a good image.
It’s time that AAP starts building something positive before the next election, else it won’t be anywhere in the next elections.