AAP Rejected, or BJP Elected?

ls the electorate voting to reject rather than voting to elect?

- Ajay Gudavarthy

WHAT are the big ticket issues that emerge from the loss of power for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) coming back to power after 27 years? Change in democracy is always welcome as it puts the necessary pressure on political parties to perform better. It is this latent competition among the parties, just like the competition among brands in the market place that is indispensable in democracy.

The Delhi electorate was faced with an uncanny situation. The AAP was not allowed to work with constant interference from the Lieutenant Governor (LG). The interference was laced in procedural niceties. Water supply was interrupted, roads were in shambles, and mohalla clinics were not working as expected. The choice before the electorate was if they vote the AAP back to power, the logjam would continue and governance will continue to suffer.

What could be a possible reason for the electorate to vote back the AAP for the third time? Could it be to take a strong position on the illegitimate interference from the LG? But what would that add up to, perhaps, nothing tangible. But it should also compel us to ask: why did the electorate not call out the BJP? How could they trust a party that did not allow work for Delhiites to be given the reigns? Does it mean public ethics don’t matter or that it was not worth taking that kind of a risk in voting back the AAP that was not particularly impressive? Does this also mean that the electorate, election after election, voting to reject rather than voting to elect?