Delhi - India's true Belly

My admiration for the people of Delhi has grown leaps and bounds. Last year; the people showed Congress the door and were split near 50:50 in deciding if  BJP or AAP should rule the State. Having given BJP a near absolute mandate in the National elections last year, the BJP took the people's mood for granted. I don't think the people liked being taken for granted; and in the bargain discharged the Congress completely like gas after a long and heavy meal (never mind the orifice); and gave the BJP a "Delhi Belly" that would keep a lot of the party members glued to their white bathroom thrones for a while. On the other hand, the efforts put in by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) man and machinery to convince the voter of the sincerity to make amends earned it a near 100% mandate in the current State Elections. AAP's victory has opened up a can of worms for the BJP in other States as well. For one, its aggrieved partner went vocal in Maharashtra in celebrating the defeat causing much embarrassment for the BJP top Brass. As per the press, the old BJP guard is chuckling as well - just short of openly celebrating the event. Yes "Shit Happens" 

A day after the victory, the news channels are making it sound like Kejriwal has just won the Prime Minister's post and papers have allocated close to 50% or more of it's 4th estate in slicing and dicing the event and some personalities as well.
The media is suggesting that AAP will in time emerge as the new secular alternative in place of the Congress; forgetting that Congress is actually the cause of fragmenting this nation's electorate to create non secular vote banks. The Indian electorate is changing. No longer is it willing to vote as per the whims of a relreligious head or head of any caste or creed. The voter now is deciding based on service that can be expected from a Party, and if there is no delivery; the mood is neither of tolerance nor patience. Modi and his men needed this shake up and wake up call; and while AAP has humbled the present Titan it is far from filling the void that the Congress has left in terms of a serious opponent at a national level. Kejriwal has every reason to be scared as he says he is with the results. There is a lot of work to be done for AAP to achieve its      

CHARTER FOR CHANGE

and no one around in the State Assembly on who the blame can be pinned for any failure. The 15 Key points in its 70 point action plan:





1 DELHI JANLOKPAL BILL: Resolved to bring Delhi Jan Lokpal Bill on coming to power. Delhi Lokpal will have the power to investigate and prosecute those charged with corruption. This is one thing that has been debated and well thought through. But in general public officials are known to be "birds of a feather that flock together". What if a section of or entire civil service go into defiance mode (with covert support of those wanting to defeat this initiative) at one of theirs being prosecuted? 2 SWARAJ BILL: AAP will also bring the Swaraj Bill to devolve powers to the people. Decisions affecting the local community will be taken by citizens and implemented by their secretariat. This is akin to creating a "Panchayat Raj" within the various provinces of Delhi. Actually a great idea as long as the people don't get incited on communal or caste lines. Matters can go very awry very fast in a City State of hundreds of highly divided and highly emotional communities. 
3 FULL STATEHOOD FOR DELHI: AAP will push for full statehood for Delhi. This will make bodies like DDA, MCD & Delhi Police accountable to the elected Delhi government. Question to ask is will Haryana and UP cede territories falling under the National Capital Region to go under full control of Delhi State Government? If not, then statehood would be restrict to Delhi as per its existing City boundary. It will certainly be good for the people even if that happens. 
4 ELECTRICITY BILLS TO BE CUT BY HALF: AAP will ask CAG to do an audit of discoms, and convinced that they are fattening the costs, AAP will reduce electricity bills by half. This initiative had a national impact last year in AAP's 49 day rule where all electricity providers went on their back foot. Yes should be done, but what about solving electricity theft? Close to 50% of electricity is stolen and the honest consumer billed for the same. Would AAP be able to curb this problem as most of the theft is attributed to those very people who have voted for AAP or to people in position of high power. 
5 DISCOM PORTABILITY: AAP has promised to provide consumers the right to choose between electricity providers.This, they say, will create competition, leading to better services and lower tariffs. Should be done ahead of 4. 
6 DELHI TO BE MADE A SOLAR CITY: AAP will facilitate a phased shift to renewable and alternate sources of energy. Yes of course, but where will the solar farms come up and who will invest based on the tariff structure being proposed by AAP? 
7 WATER AS A RIGHT: AAP will provide universal access to clean drinking water at an affordable price. This, they say, is every citizen's right. Utopian thought as where will this water come from? 
8 FREE WATER: AAP to give free `lifeline' water of up to 20 kilolitres (20,000 litres) per month to every household. But once consumption exceeds 20 kilolitres, full amount to be charged. Annual 10% tariff hike will be abolished & hikes will be after due consideration. I am ready to shift to Delhi; but again, there is hardly any ground water left in Delhi and porting water from other States (most controlled by the BJP) is quite honestly a "pipe dream" for now. 
9 REVIVING YAMUNA: Will ensure 100% collection and treatment of Delhi's sewage through an extensive sewer network and construction of new functional sewage treatment plants. The State is nearly bankrupt and points 5 to 8 will further pressure the finances; so where will the investment come from? Assume it will, how will AAP tackle the industrial polluters? 
10 PUBLIC LOOS: AAP will build 1.5 lakh toilets in slums across the city and 50,000 toilets in public spaces.Of them, 1 lakh toilets will be for women. AAP should draw funds from the "Swaatch Bharat Abhiyan" from the Center from the for this purpose as their are funds earmarked just for it. 
11 NEW SCHOOLS: AAP will build 500 new schools with a special focus on secondary and senior secondary schools to ensure that every Delhi child has easy access to quality education.AAP should draw funds from the "Beti Bachao - Beti Padhao" initiative from the Center for this purpose as their are funds earmarked just for it. 
The PM and his Party's sincerity will become obvious if points 10 and 11 are implemented with "brownie" points to both BJP and AAP.  
12 NEW COLLEGES: AAP will open 20 new colleges under Delhi administration on the outskirts of the city in partnership with the villages of Delhi. Unlike Schools, higher education is a different matter and those willing to invest may have a different plan in mind - unless AAP can behave like TDP and give away valuable free land to foreign charitable institutions. 
13 REGULATE FEES: AAP to regulate private school fees by publishing the fee structures & accounts online. Capitation fee will be abolished. Good for education but capitation fee will reinvent itself under a new format partly to pay the expectation of quality "Pedagogs" that don't come cheap anymore. 
14 E-GOVERNANCE: All govt services & forms to be available online & on cellphone. Data on govt projects, progress, accounts & personnel will be posted online. This is fine and should be done; but can AAP simply procedures that makes the necessity of dealing with touts unnecessary? The Mumbai RTO experience should be studied by AAP for this purpose. 
15 SMART DELHI: AAP promised free Wi-Fi in city. It will also install 10,000 CCTVs in DTC buses, bus stands and in crowded places as a deterrent against crime. Mumbai too has gone through this process post 26/11; but how much of this infrastructure is functional is anyone's guess. 

I am not being negative. Where there is a will there is a way and AAP will have to find that way. Success means winning the Mumbai Municipal Elections in 2017 as also such elections in governing the 6 key Metro Cities of India other than the National Capital and at least 15+ State Capitals. The consequences of victory there - impact obvious. 

The Broom Wave hits Delhi.

The last few days were a clear indication that the Aam Admi Party (AAP) would once again make a strong comeback; but honestly, I never expected it to be such a powerful record breaking comeback to win 60+ seats in a 70 seat house. Mr. Kejriwal is fortunate that Delhi has not only been forgiving but also generous to AAP to bring it back into power with such ferocity. I only hope that the leadership and core team does not screw it up like the last time.

The people of Delhi have shown India that the electorate needs to rise above the divisions created by political leaders to carve out vote banks and select governance based on issues that affect all. So putting religion, caste, social status, education level and other such attributes aside the people have voted in unison in pursuit for a Delhi that is safer; less corrupt; less polluted; less affected by people in power; not starved for utilities or essentials; and not bullied by those "well connected". Clearly; the people felt that neither the Congress nor the BJP can deliver on their expectations and both the national parties have been shown the door. It's time for a great deal of introspection by both these parties and maybe time they understood not to underestimate the angst of the common man. 

I feel sorry for Kiran Bedi. She would have actually made a better CM than Mr. Kejriwal; and had she remained with AAP, Kejriwal should have offered her that seat. She is an asset for the BJP despite the loss (hers and the Party); and Mr. Shah should actually consider weeding out those within the Party that are actually responsible for the poll results.While BJP needs a State level shake up, the Congress has a much larger problem. The reflected mood clearly conveys that a Congress led by any member of the Nehru-Gandhi family is now unacceptable. 

Kejriwal has already made it clear that staging "dharnas" (rallies) would be an act of last resort. So one can be sure that he will no longer be labeled "Anarchist" Kejriwal. AAP will also have to stay away from playing the over sensationalizing "drama" party; the need for it is gone. The manifesto objectives of AAP are not that easy to implement and there will be a lot of support required from the Center to see them through.  While the PM has been gracious in congratulating Kejriwal; it is to be seen if his Government will cooperate with the State; as achieving the set objectives will make AAP even stronger much to the disadvantage of the BJP in further election encounters. Once again, the PM has been clear that the BJP has been empowered with a National agenda and it will cooperate with all States irrespective of the leadership. If the principle is followed; BJP will truly emerge bigger in the next national elections. On the other hand AAP can potentially become a major migraine for the Centre with this kind of majority. It will do exactly what BJP does in the Center - pass ordinances. If Centre opposes AAP's initiatives then the so called "Egg Kejriwal" will hit the PM's face as AK will say "We did it but Center opposed it - what can I do?"

Mr. Modi was never really considered CM material; but despite all the labels attributed to him changed the face of Gujarat. It is the success of the Gujarat model over a decade that elevated him to be called the perfect PM material. While the people may be discontented with his tenure as PM so far, the policies he is putting in place will show results in a decade; exactly how they did in that long and hard walk in Gujarat, AAP too was considered an underdog last year; but after this Delhi victory it has got itself into a situation where every sneeze of it will be heard throughout the Nation. It may not have a voice in the Parliament; but it has control of all roads leading to the Parliament and that is what makes this tiny City-State so important.  Kejriwal will have to tame his ambitions for now. Rather than trying to increase its ambit of influence all over, it should start with the adjoining States of Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and possibly Uttrakhand. He has time. Within 2 to 3 years; if most people in Delhi sing "I am Happy" then the effect will be contagious enough that YoYo Honey Singh may have to write the lyrics of  the "Jhadoo Dance". 

Overnight the stock market has leaped back as much it had jumped and it looks like it's business as usual knowing that there is a clear winner and it does not matter who. So congratulations AAP and enjoy the broom wave in the Capital. People of Delhi - be ready for severe turbulence for the coming months; riding on the AAP's broom will cause a fair amount of nausea. Truly a tipping point.