Aam Aadmi's Party AAP Jan Lokpal Bill

Aam Aadmi's Party AAP Jan Lokpal Bill

FROM a revenue officer to a political leader. posing a challenge to powerful Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, and might of the BJP. Arvind Kejriwal, has covered a long distance. Barely three years ago, he lived in a two-bed-room flat but within a short span of time, he has emerged as a popular leader of Delhi; second after Dikshii. BJP has announced RSS-backed Harsh Vardhan as its chief ministerial candidate. Kajriwal, who heads Delhi's youngest party, says the fight has just begun and he will fight till finish irrespective of consequences.

A small nondescript man. invariably dressed in baggy shirtsleeves, plain trousers and oversized sandals. Kejriwal has emerged as Aam Aadmi party's only public face. His ordinariness makes an instant connect with the aam aadmi (common man). He also appears to be defying the money and muscle power of mainstream political parties—Congress and the BJP. The contest, he says, will be between honesty and corruption.

The BJP has been in power in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi for seven years and the Congress in die State Government for 15 years. Both have been unabashedly dishonest. People have been watching and this time they have found an honest alternative in AAP.

Kejriwal insists in meeting after meeting that nothing short of a revolution can rescue India from the systematic corrupt ion that has invaded every Government - eitherofthe Congress or the BJP. Under the present political system, he says, even well-meaning set of people cannot provide good governance. That is why the AAPs vision document prescribes swaraj or radical decentralization of political power so that people may gel the right to influence policies that affect their day-to-day life.

Between October 2012. when the AAP was formed and October 2013. the party has leapfrogged into a Delhi-centric party—that has surveys predicting a good showing for it in the coming Assembly elections. This is no mean achievement in a field dominated by established parties like the Congress and the BJP.

Kejriwal says that the Jan Lokpal Bill is his dream and he will make it a reality once his party come to power. "All of usundehe leadership of Anna Hazare had tried to bring the Jan Lokpal Bill for more than two years. But. we could not succeed in our stems. Forming a party and contesting elections will help; in this." He promises that once AAP comes to power" we will bring the Jal Lokpal Bill within 15 days of the Government formation".

Evidently. Kejriwal is aware of the pulse of the electorate and he speaks accordingly to connect with the people. He hits out at the weakest spots of the Government like price rise. "Why has prices of common items gone up"? He also provides the answer "because of corruption. The Sheika Dikshil Government is hand in glove with power distribution companies".

Kejriwal's advantage is he has signed on a clean slate. People do not see them in image of a regular politician. This symbolic effect of his appearance, his ideology and even his party's symbol is there for all to see. He has given respect to the broom which has traditionally been a source of livelihood for the down trodden.

Strangely, Kejriwal has announced separate manifestos for all 70 scats in Delhi Assembly considering different needs for different areas. There will be five points for the parry's manifesto; corruption-free Delhi is the first priority.