NEW DELHI: Since the 2020 assembly polls, when Aam Aadmi Party trampled upon the opposition with a massive mandate to govern Delhi for the second consecutive term by winning 62 of the 70 seats, a lot of water has flown under Loha Pul.
The image of the ruling party, which was formed on the anti-corruption plank, has since taken a severe beating and it struggles with charges of bribery and financial irregularities. AAP‘s top leadership, including supremo Arvind Kejriwal and his lieutenant Manish Sisodia, spent lengthy periods in jail, directly impacting the city’s governance which led to an erosion in civic amenities.
On the other side, the BJP-led central govt wrested control of services – matters of bureaucracy, including posting and transfer of officials – by enacting a new law and appointed a lieutenant governor in May 2022 who has refused to remain a constitutional head or a mere rubber stamp for the state govt. He has been proactive in actual governance, regularly conducting meetings not only with officials of agencies that fall under his direct jurisdiction but also with the heads of the departments controlled by the elected dispensation. This has led to unending wrangling and trading of barbs between LG VK Saxena and AAP govt.
After a 49-day stint in govt with the outside support of Congress in 2013-14 followed by a year-long President’s rule in Delhi, AAP created a record by winning 67 of the 70 assembly seats in 2015. The ‘Delhi model’ of governance largely centred on improvement of city schools, mohalla clinics and free electricity and water to everyone consuming them within a capped amount. With a reputation of “fulfilling” most of the electoral promises it made and running a largely untainted govt, AAP contested its third election in 2020 and was re-elected with a drop of just 1% in vote share – from 54.6% in 2015 to 53.6% – and five fewer seats than in the previous term.
The 2020 assembly polls were held amid vociferous protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill – which later became a law – the nerve centre being the Muslim-dominated Shaheen Bagh in southeast Delhi’s Okhla. The consolidation of votes this caused helped AAP emerge the victor. It got a huge mandate and validation of the masses, but its fortune started changing within a year. The first was the denting of the image of an “honest” dispensation. Starting with the allegations of irregularities in formulation and implementation of now-withdrawn Delhi excise policy to allegedly benefit a particular liquor cartel, the party has faced a flurry of corruption charges in the last three years or so. Nobody had imagined that Kejriwal, idolised by the people for his honesty, would go to jail on corruption charges. The renovation and furnishing of the chief minister residence at 6 Flagstaff Road in north Delhi’s Civil Lines, allegedly at an extravagant cost, has further tarnished the kattar imandaar image.
The 2020 election was held when the Municipal Corporation of Delhi – which is responsible for basic civic amenities such as sanitation and internal roads – was under the control of BJP. The saffron party was constantly attacked by AAP on civic issues and its “mis-governance” was cited as an example of the administrative (in)capability to govern. The tide turned in 2022 with AAP winning the municipal polls. The civic condition of the city hasn’t changed much since then. In fact, the intractable power struggle in the municipal body has caused a paralysis of action. Two years later, AAP will be judged for its performance in MCD, especially on the stalemate in the formation of the standing committee, which decides all the important capital-intensive projects.
In the last 30 months or so, several inquiries ordered by LG into projects under the direct control of the elected govt have irretrievably soured his relationship with AAP functionaries and provided BJP with ammunition to attack them during the assembly polls. Many big names in the party, including three ministers – Kailash Gahlot, Raaj Kumar Anand and Rajendra Pal Gautam – exited AAP, alleging involvement in corruption and little being done for the scheduled castes.
The enactment of the new law that gave LG control of bureaucracy too came as a stumbling block for Delhi govt. Though they work for the elected govt, bureaucrats know it is LG who has the power to decide their transfer and posting and appraise their performance. Their loyalties, therefore, have accordingly shifted. Never earlier had senior bureaucrats held press conferences against their own ministers or made confidential communication public.
“This had serious repercussions for the functioning of our govt,” a senior AAP functionary confided. “Several projects that we wanted to implement faced obstructions in the absence of bureaucratic support. The registration of corruption cases against our leaders and their imprisonment also had a direct impact on governance.” The functionary, however, remained optimistic. “The electorate is fully aware that AAP was hobbled from working fully all these years,” he claimed.
The arrest of Kejriwal in the excise policy case in March last year led to a near collapse of the governance in the city. He continued to remain CM while incarcerated, thus incapacitating govt from taking major decisions. The restriction on signing files and entering the Delhi secretariat imposed on him by the Supreme Court while granting him bail forced Kejriwal to hand over the baton to Atishi in Sept. While AAP is still projecting him as the incoming CM, the question remains whether Kejriwal will be able to take up helmsmanship if AAP is re-elected in view of the bail order. Though there has been no change in the legal position since then, AAP insists that he can.
Taking a critical look at governance in the last few years, Chandrachur Singh, associate professor of political science at Delhi University’s Hindu College, said Kejriwal, who stood for “ideal” politics for a decade, was now being made to answer questions about probity in public life. “Kejriwal’s political journey so far has proved that idealism and politics are two totally different aspects. People have started to think that somebody who entered politics to cleanse it himself got enmeshed in it. He had the potential to become a pan-India leader had he taken governance more seriously,” said Singh.
Ravi Ranjan, a professor of political science at DU’s Zakir Husain College, said the situation isn’t as clear cut this year as it was in 2020. “AAP has tried to convince the electorate of the obstructionist stances of LG and BJP in delivery of projects, and so the voters of unauthorised and JJ colonies may continue to support Kejriwal. Those who are opposed to the saffron ideology may not consider Congress strong enough to counter BJP,” he said. “Yet, the arrests of AAP’s stalwarts and failure in delivery, in particular health and education infrastructure, could give BJP the edge, provided that party puts up the right candidates and its campaigners desist from barbs at women, minorities and marginalised sections.”
