The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of Arvind Kejriwal scored a landslide victory winning the common man’s trust and promising to clean up the politics of the country’s capital. The AAP manifesto mirrors a host of standard strategies that politicians have used in the past to win votes.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promised to work closely with the new Chief Minister but this will be an uneasy alliance given the dichotomy of both parties.
Delhi could well be a kick-start for change, but the road ahead is bumpy and fraught with obstacles, only sheer grit, determination, unity and the will to succeed will bring AAP’s plan to fruition. If Delhi does show signs of progress over the next six months, the portfolio for change could well be used across the nation in each state.
We would also like to see the PM get involved rather than just occupy a ceremonial seat in parliament, a push from the top will be a boost to the Delhi government and will no doubt spur the youth and start a countrywide movement for change.
I see this as something like time travel, often a seemingly paradoxical conclusion, something that seems absurd but could nevertheless be demonstrated to be true, but there is an intuitive 50 per cent chance that the conclusive decision-making will result in a positive outcome.
Reforms like free water, reduced utility bills, a phased shift to solar energy, confronting the political mafia, cleaning up the fresh water supplies are all what we as Indians look forward to, but the chasm between historical reality or possible versus a workable solution seems far too wide to bridge given the extremely complicated political hierarchy and literate working class, not forgetting the under privileged that are living below the poverty line.
Irrespective of the challenges that lie ahead, it is indeed a step in the right direction and the country’s youth should now take the reins and lead this vast nation into becoming the next economic capital of the world with a happiness index within the top 10.
— The reader is an Indian customer service officer based in Dubai