A Capital Lesson

The Delhi assembly election has shown that nobody can take people for granted in a democracy. It is refreshing to see a record voting turnout and a near unanimous result.

AAP did a commendable job of getting rid of the baggage from last year and reconnecting with the voters. BJP, on the other hand, was complacent from a string of victories and paid the price. Congress, with this performance, has shown once again that it continues to live in its own world, completely unwilling to make any effort to learn from the past.

This was BJP’s first shock after a dream run last year in both national and state elections. They have been humbled right under their nose, fair and square. With the decimation of Congress one election after another, BJP was marching unchallenged. AAP has proven to be an able contender and this result will keep the BJP grounded. While people want a leader who speaks from the heart in their language, mere words and hype alone will not do. One can never afford to forget that egotism leads to downfall, as also pointed out by Arvind Kejriwal in his speech at the oath-taking ceremony. The BJP top leadership is astute enough to learn what it did or did not do right.

People’s trust is hard to earn and easy to lose. AAP has learnt from its mistakes and made an honest effort to work on its shortcomings. They would certainly not want to lose people’s trust again by resorting to theatrics. In order to deliver on their promises, they will need to cooperate with different departments and agencies instead rather than antagonize them. I wish them well in their efforts.

This election shows that India’s diversity serves as a political safety cover. With different areas having different social nuances, no single formula works everywhere and this uncertainty keeps political parties on their toes.

The trend of clear majority results in so many elections of late is also a very healthy sign. This means that our electorate is no longer divided over frivolous issues but united over real ones. People are rising above identity-based interests and voting over concerns that affect the whole society. It is heartening to see that topics like development and removing corruption are more prominent in political discussions now replacing the ugly phenomenon of vote-bank politics. Today voters are much more mindful of how leaders conduct themselves and who makes an effort to reach out to them. Social media has had a big role to play in uniting the population as a collective mind and when this collective mind speaks, everybody has to listen. This high level of awareness seen in our voters, particularly the youth, is what makes a democracy work. Our country is safe under the watch of its awakened people.

Someone said that the wish of every party came true with this result : The BJP wanted a Congress-mukt Bharat, the Aam Aadmi Party wanted clear majority and Congress wanted to keep BJP out of power. All that one can say is “Beware what you wish for!”