Broom goes for national sweepstakes

Can probes by the CBI and the ED against its leaders stymie the AAP’s bid to expand its footprint across the country?

Born out of an anti-corruption movement, Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is now besieged by allegations of graft. Some of its leaders are under the scanner of central investigating agencies like the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The party claims that the BJP is after at least 40 of its 62 Delhi MLAs for which they are ready to spend Rs 800 crore, an allegation denied by the saffron party.

The recent actions against the AAP leaders in Delhi – arrest of minister Satyendar Jain in a money laundering case and FIR against Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia – came at a time when the party is hoping to spread its wings across the country following an impressive victory in Punjab, where it came to power earlier this year after decimating the Congress, Akali Dal and the BJP.

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The decibel levels have risen in the recent past with both the BJP and the AAP wrangling on freebies, hooch tragedy in Gujarat, settling Rohingyas and the Kejriwal government’s showcasing of health and education sector achievements. Many see the latest attempts as a bid to nip in the bud itself the AAP’s foray into the untested waters of Gujarat and the national ambitions it harbours.

The ED’s move to arrest Jain, considered close to Kejriwal and one of the main money managers for the party, is seen by the AAP as an attempt to choke the party’s sources of funds.

The CBI’s FIR against Sisodia, the close friend and confidante of the Chief Minister, on the controversial excise policy, is perceived as the war bugle ahead of the upcoming assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.

Not one to take things lying down, the AAP has hit the ground running with Kejriwal and Sisodia heading to Gujarat days after the CBI raided the latter’s residence along with others.

The AAP, always adept in messaging, has now launched a ‘Mission to Make India No 1’. Kejriwal may call it an “apolitical national mission” inviting all, including other parties, to join it. But his and his party’s ambitions to play a larger role in national politics has not been lost on anyone. He hoped to assume the role of a national leader in 2014 itself and contested against the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi in Varanasi. The voters however tamed his ambitions then. He kept low for years, but the AAP’s victory in Punjab earlier this year and the Congress’s prospects at a historic low have reignited his hopes again.

The AAP has also managed to win a couple of seats in Goa. Now, Kejriwal wants his party to have impressive wins in two more states so that it could secure ‘national party’ status.

The competitive politics within the Opposition has also unravelled. The AAP does not want to be seen in the company of the Congress, which too has so far refused to give a clean chit to Sisodia.

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The Congress pointed out that it was the original complainant in the case and it cannot go back because it questions its credibility.

Not to forget, AAP also did not come out in support of the Congress when Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were questioned by the ED.

One problem that AAP faces is the personality cult in the party, contrary to the promise on which it was formed in 2012. Kejriwal is the only vote-catcher and the only face of the party. His is the first and the last words within the party. Sisodia and other leaders are on the distant second echelons in the party hierarchy. Kejriwal has surrounded himself with loyalists and the question of internal democracy appears to have become a joke.

No doubt, the central agencies actions have raised doubts in some minds about the AAP’s anti-corruption plank, but so far the party has managed to sell well its achievements in the education and health sector.

For the time being, the teflon coating has not been breached and no dirt is sticking on the image of the party.