It is the end of AAP dream. AAP began with great expectations. It talked about ending corruption. There was hope. During first AAP government there was talk of policemen not taking bribes. That government ended in 49 days. AAP returned to power with majority. AAP won 67 out of 70 seats in Delhi. However all was not well. There were questions about some MLAs.
Expulsion of Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav showed Arvind Kejriwal as autocratic. Many leaders left the party.
AAP became one man party. It became property of Arvind Kejriwal. Grass roots democracy did not last long. Primaries to elect candidates to fight elections disappeared. It was high command culture.
Jitendra Singh Tomar case damaged AAP. He was made a minister. AAP defended him against accusations of forged certificates. AAP was proved wrong. AAP’s reputation was damaged.
There was allegation that in Punjab, women who wanted to contest as AAP candidates were asked to have sex. On India Today, Yogendra Yadav told Rajdeep Sardesai he can find out by talking to people there.
Arvind Kejriwal and some AAP leaders blamed EVMs for their defeats. Some AAP leaders did not agree with that. They said AAP did not communicate well the good work it has done, losing touch with people, and wrong ticket distribution. Those who were members for a long time did not get tickets. Those who newly joined from other parties got tickets. That disappointed AAP volunteers and they stopped working for the party.
Kumar Vishwas made statements against AAP leadership. Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia met and pacified him. He was made Rajasthan in-charge.
On 6/5/2017 Arvind Kejriwal removed Kapil Mishra as Water Resources and Tourism Minister. On 7/5/2017 Kapil Mishra accused Arvind Kejriwal of taking 2 crore rupees of bribe money from Satyendra Jain. That was the last straw that broke camel’s back or the last nail on the coffin.
AAP had limited success outside Delhi. In Punjab it won four Lok Sabha seats in 2014 and 20 Legislative Assembly seats in 2017.
Any attempt by anyone who claims to have corruption-free politics will be met with cynicism. One may be a good person before joining politics. After joining politics there is no guarantee that person will remain good.
