The 16th Lok Sabha elections are just over. This was, according to a large section of the media, the most fiercely contested parliamentary election in the history of India. While the main fight for power was between two established political parties, with mostly familiar post-poll promises like "economic growth and development" (whatever that means), this election became more interesting due to the advent of a brand new party- the Common Man's Party (CMP) under AK, and activist-politician. This party's main plank was to rid the Indian political system of corruption, and they went about exposing various wrongdoings of the existing parties. At the same time, they had another agenda- to bring real "Swaraj" or self-rule to the common man, by allowing him/her a greater say in governance of the country. Alongside, there were promises to drastically bring down charges of electricity, gas and other essentials, which, according to them, had been hugely overpriced by the existing governments mostly to allow more profit to certain big corporate houses.
The ideas of CMP, especially their declaration of crusade against corruption, was well-received in Delhi and parts of North UP, Punjab and Haryana, and they made a stunning political debut in the Delhi Assembly polls. Though AK had a rather controversial stint in CM's office for only 49 days, the CMP was expected by many to continue their good show in the Lok Sabha elections also, and they put up candidates in nearly 80% of the seats all over the country. AK himself challenged the IPP (Indian People's Party) prime ministerial candidate to a virtual duel in a IPP stronghold constituency. Unfortunately, a massive wave seemed to have gripped the electorate, and the IPP stormed to power, and the CMP, though not entirely disgraced, could not manage even a fraction of what their leaders had claimed.
Now the elections are over, the CMP has only 4 relatively unknown members in the parliament, and they are out of power in Delhi, with another assembly elections coming up there. The question is, where to now for this fledgling party?
In the past, lots of new parties have been launched by well-meaning, idealist politicians, but most have failed the test of time, and either faded into oblivion, or stayed on, maybe in only one or two states, as "yet another political party". It will be a great loss if CMP also courts this fate, because it is unique in several ways. First of all, it has a great manifesto, ranging on a variety of issues neglected by mainstream politics, for obvious reasons. These issues include decentralization of power, electoral reforms, transparency in party funding, environmental issues, freeing national policy-making from influence of major corporate houses, and of course their main plank so far- anti-corruption crusade. Another reason for its uniqueness is that it has been able to mobilize the urban youth to levels barely imaginable. To avoid losing its way very early, and instead sustain, grow and ultimately seize political power, it needs a clear vision, which seems to be lacking at the moment.
One of the biggest criticisms of the political analysts and intelligentsia against the CMP is that, its position in the political spectrum is not clear. AK himself has indicated that the party would be flexible in its policies, and need not be rigidly "leftist" or "rightist". Personally, I believe that this apparent weakness or identity crisis can also be a great strength. It is quite clear that in politics, it is never a good idea to paint every issue with the same brush, which is what the political intellectuals have usually tended to do.
The next big criticism against CMP and AK is that, it depends too much on stunts and theatrics, which may have been successful initially, but have gradually turned people off. Personally I agree to this point fully. The memories of the Delhi CM declaring himself "an anarchist" (probably a misuse of the word, as far as I understand), or of spending nights on the pavement in front of the lieutenant-governor's house to press for a demand, are very much unsavoury to me. Some other top leaders of the party also have been guilty of over-dramatic behaviour, that does not suit responsible leaders. I feel it is important for them to stop this immediately.
Another related criticism is that AK and other leaders are self-righteous, and always trying to project every established political leader as corrupt. Now for election purposes rhetoric is important, and exposing powerful corrupt people is an important part of CMP's main plank. However, they may not have been able to do this in a way that appeals to people. In fact their later campaigns may have appeared to many people as "fear-mongering", trying to find conspiracy and corruption everywhere on earth. Over-the-top statements against established, popular (perhaps for wrong reasons) leaders, like "there is not an atom of development in Gujarat", have not gone down well with many. Also, a Delhi minister leading a vigilante mob against a settlement of foreigners, and pressurizing the police to arrest them illegally, also reinforce the perception of self-righteousness of the CMP leaders. Another attitude to change quickly.
AK's campaign against many corrupt political leaders and powerful corporate houses that manipulate national policies for profit, are very relevant. Indeed, so far it has been their main selling point. However, criticising others can take you only so far, unless you have some positive to offer. Looking at CMP's manifesto, it appears that they do have plenty of fresh, appealing ideas which no party has ever explored in India. In my opinion, it is high time CMP identifies a well-defined political philosophy which the party will stand for, until it is achieved. I don't think anti-corruption movement qualifies as a political philosophy. So what can that philosophy be?
The idea in the CMP manifesto that greatly appeals to me is that of political decentralization. It is the policy of allowing countrymen a greater say in the governance, something that isn't there right now. On this front, the CMP manifesto promises implementing the Right to Recall elected representatives. It has also suggested conducting local "Mohalla Sabha"-s at locality level, where the local residents can assemble and discuss the needs of the locality, which will then be relayed to a higher policy-making authority. These are fine ideas, but the CMP campaign somehow did not focus on them prominently. They can consider doing so from now on.
There is another aspect of decentralization, which has been considered by CMP, but discussed and communicated very little in their campaigns. This is the issue of supporting various people's movements, in different parts of the country. These include protests against dams and nuclear power-plants, acquisition of agricultural and forest lands for industrial projects, movements against draconian laws and infringement on personal liberties in disturbed/insurgency-affected areas, and so on. In fact, National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) had already aimed to unite such protesting groups, and now NAPM has merged with CMP. This is a very significant phenomena, unheard of in the history of India. These are the voices of dissent, protesting against the government, and the most common response of previous governments has been to repress them by force and defame their leaders as selfish, anti-development and/or having vested interests. But any democracy worth its name must heed voices of dissent, particularly if they are coming from already unprivileged people. The merger of NAPM with CMP provides a scope to arm these marginalized and alienated people with political power, with which their representatives can bring up their issues in the highest echelons of power.
I just found out that a whopping 1687 parties had contested in the elections, most of which contested in only a handful of seats and got about a few thousand votes. Many of these are actually small interest groups, campaigning for unusual caused neglected (or opposed) by the big parties. Some of these causes have strong parochial/communal overtones, and hence cannot be promoted. But the CMP may want to identify the ones with worthy causes, and acquire them or forge alliances with them.
The discussed idea of political decentralization appears a very appealing philosophy to me, and I feel CMP should make it their main aim, and main theme in future elections. That should also justify the name of the party. It is especially important at a time when the country is going through a major churning in the pursuit of development, which has not been inclusive and has resulted in millions of people displaced from their rural homes and traditional professions, lakhs of farmer suicides, and a bloody, fierce civil war in the forested heartland of India. By attending to the alienated people and trying to include them in India's development plans, CMP can prevent further social imbalance, and the resulting violent backlash. It is true that the current mindset of the electorate may not endorse this ideology, as most people seem keen on having a strong center which will hurtle India towards being an "economic superpower", repressing and liquidating all the rural naysayers. Still, this is an ideology which seems worthy enough to fight for.
India needs a party like CMP, that will avoid the beaten path of Indian poltics, and infuse fresh air, fresh issues and fresh ideas into the political system. Only then can we move towards achieving Swaraj- self-rule, for every Indian citizen.
