Finally, the Aam Aadmi Party or the AAP has got some relief in India. With the Supreme Court releasing AAP leader and former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on bail in an alleged money laundering case, the AAP has suddenly been reenergised.
Sisodia spent 17 months in jail and with no sign of a trial anywhere in the near future, the top court said his custody was no longer tenable.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is also in jail in the same case but he has got bail under the tougher money laundering law. He remains behind bars only because another investigating agency, the CBI arrested him in the same case. Bail is only a matter of time for him too.
For the AAP, beleaguered by a string of arrests of its top leadership, spats with the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, and a court sanctioned undermining of its authority, Sisodia’s release just months ahead of assembly elections in Delhi comes as a huge breather.
Sisodia has hit the ground running, starting with a padyatra or a march on foot this week, to connect with voters. This actually marks a change for Sisodia who was more of an organisational man for the AAP, not really its foot soldier on the ground. But with Kejriwal out of action for now, he has taken the reins.
Delhi elections are due early next year and for the AAP, it will be a major test of its popularity in Delhi despite the alleged corruption scandals and arrests of its leaders.
The recent Lok Sabha polls did not throw up any sympathy for the jailed Chief Minister with the BJP winning all the seats but the assembly may still be a different story. While the BJP has consistently dominated the general election seats in Delhi, the last two assembly polls have proven the dominance of AAP.
Smoke without fire?
But could the AAP face some strong headwinds this time? The party, which was borne out of an anti corruption movement against the Congress lead UPA government, today finds itself facing a series of corruption allegations.
They have denied these but the high profile arrests have lead some voters to question whether there is smoke without fire. Others are convinced it is vendetta politics by the BJP.
Then there are serious governance issues that the national capital is grappling with. The collapse of civic infrastructure in particular has been a glaring failure for which the AAP cannot escape blame. The deaths of 3 students in a basement that got flooded during heavy rain has exposed the shocking state of affairs in municipal bodies.
Some of these are run by the AAP. Constantly blaming the BJP for their troubles is no longer cutting ice with people who are fed up with water logging every time it rains because the drains haven’t been cleaned.
Tested at ballot box
It is also true that the Delhi’s complicated governing structure has essentially allowed the centre (run by the BJP) to constantly undermine the AAP government in Delhi and create hurdles in governance.
The Delhi government has no control over officials, their postings or transfers. A Supreme Court judgment which gave them those powers was nullified by an ordinance brought by the central government which gave the powers to the LG.
An appeal is still pending in court. As a result, officers don’t attend meetings called by AAP ministers and a recent ruling by the Supreme Court, allowing the LG to make certain appointments to the municipal bodies without the approval of the Delhi government, has further eroded the authority of elected representatives.
The fact is that Delhi’s infrastructure has collapsed and the constant blame game and sniping between the AAP government and the BJP and the LG has made things even worse.
Earlier the Congress’ Sheila Dikshit was Chief minister of Delhi under the NDA government of Vajpayee and found a way to work with the centre. The AAP is more confrontational in its approach but its also true that the current NDA is far more difficult to deal with. Its also true that the AAP has emerged as a major political thorn in the BJP’s side over the last decade with emphatic wins in Delhi and Punjab.
Whether the AAP can hold on to its majority despite the challenges of the last few years will now be tested at the ballot box.
