The victory of Arvind Kejriwal's (Aam Aadmi Party) AAP in Delhi is historical. I cannot think of an example of such a massive victory in any Indian state where multiple parties have a stronghold. The victory of Kejriwal is proof that Indians are fed up with politicians who make promises before elections and afterwards consider it their birthright to continue corrupt practices and vote bank politics. Since Narendra Modi came to power in the central government, Muslims in India have been nervous about how he intends to rule India. I have had a hard time arguing with friends and family members that Modi is not going to pursue a communal agenda because Hindutva, as a currency for votes, has lost its charm. When BJP became a major party in India, they practiced communal politics and had nothing to promise to the nation except some changes in the constitution that would ensure that Muslims were shown their place and that there was a sort of retribution for their rule of India.
When BJP formed the government with the support of regional parties, they were asked about the agenda on Hindutva but they ignored the question saying that theirs was a coalition government and that they would deal with the agenda of Hindutva when they had a clear majority in the parliament.
Last year, under the leadership of Narendra Modi, BJP had a clear majority in parliament but no mention was made of the communal agenda. Instead, Narendra Modi called for a 10-year moratorium on divisive issues. It is a no-brainer that divisive issues also include the issues that have been the basis of communal politics.
RSS and Narendra Modi are much smarter than they appear. They knew that if they pursued a communal agenda, they would be criticized within the country and abroad and they would not be able to create a positive image of the nation which is important for international investments. Even if they did some good work on the development front, it would be lost in the noise created to criticize the communal politics.
So, the only way they could come to power once again is if there was a visible difference in the accountability of the government and if the people of India could see and feel that difference. If it was a question of GDP growth and some popular schemes, then the previous two governments of Congress were not so bad. So, the people of India know the potential of their nation to become a superpower and they have the will to make it so. They will not accept any compromise on governance and any nonsense chatter that attempts to distract them.
I had always felt strongly that it was not a Modi wave, but rather that it was a wave of change, to see India succeed and achieve development like its neighbor China. The external issue of strained relations with Pakistan or the internal issue of Hindu-Muslim conflicts are actually non-issues for the larger masses. Now Kejriwal's victory in Delhi proves that Indians expect much more than the Modi government is prepared to deliver. I would not say that the Delhi vote was a mandate on the Modi government, or an indication of whether people approve of it or not, but it is certainly a strong message that the Modi government needs to work harder to bring about visible change. The present government needs to seriously control its politicians and religious leaders who spread hatred against minorities because it shames every Indian. Indians want to be proud of their nation and hatred against Muslims or Hindus is not a way to achieve that.
The BJP government has never shown a serious intention to end corruption because the party has never been built on the zeal to end corruption. As a result, most of the party's workers want to grab power and money whenever they can. They have never been scrutinized and included or excluded based on their integrity. In fact, the BJP would be happy to include criminals and tainted politicians as long as it believed that such an alliance would help them come to power.
Now BJP will have to make a clear choice – whether it is going to take a strong anti-corruption stance or if it will just try to please investors with nice showcasing. No doubt some growth and development can be achieved by showcasing and effective governance alone, but serious development will not happen until the spirit of the masses rises against corruption and the common man is willing to pay the price for standing for the values of integrity and transparency. That will be the first stage of India becoming a developed nation. However, this process has yet to gain momentum. Until it does, we are happy that we can at least have developed states.
