AAP stands the risk of being seen by its base as just another party

Is AAP a lost dream today? This is the question haunting those who hoped that the party would bring a much-needed change. As skeletons come tumbling out from AAP's closet, everything seems to be falling apart for the party.

Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain, both arrested and in jail, were key faces of the Kejriwal-led government in the national capital. Sisodia was AAP's second-in-command, and Jain, as health minister before his arrest, was instrumental in building 'mohalla clinics'.

Sisodia was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with alleged irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the Delhi excise policy for 2021-22. Jain was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in May last year in a money laundering case.

The two arrests have jolted the middle class in particular, as it was viewing AAP as a game-changer in the political set up of the country. It had given them hope because Aam Aadmi Party had made them believe that unlike other political parties, it was here to bring a change. It had portrayed itself as on a mission to cleanse the system, free it from corrupt practices and create solutions to problems.

Aam Aadmi Party was founded on November 26, 2012, the day the Constitution of India was adopted in 1949, by Arvind Kejriwal, advocate Prashant Bhushan, academic-turned-politician Yogendra Yadav, journalist-turned-politician Shazia Ilmi and retired JNU professor Anand Kumar.

The party was carved out of an anti-corruption social movement called India Against Corruption (IAC), which was fighting for the introduction of the Jan Lokpal Bill (Citizen Ombudsman Bill) in Parliament. The civil society movement was born in April 2011 in the backdrop of big corruption scandals that came to light during the Congress-led UPA regime.

In the last decade, AAP's growth has been phenomenal. It is ruling in two states and has a presence in many state Assemblies. It has no Lok Sabha MP at present, but has 10 members in the Rajya Sabha. It defeated BJP in the Delhi municipal elections and garnered 13 per cent of the votes cast in the Gujarat Assembly elections.

It is now a national party, ninth in the club. AAP's ascent has been dream-like spectacular with its supreme leader Kejriwal an apparent candidate for the Prime Minister's post. But in these ten years, much changed in the party. The top leadership has left the party for one reason or another.

Shazia Ilmi contested the 2014 Lok Sabha elections on AAP's ticket but lost. Later, she left the party, saying she was unhappy with the way the party functioned. Prashant Bhushan and Yoginder Yadav were kicked out of the party in 2015. In 2018, Kumar Vishwas was removed from key positions in the party.

Kapil Mishra, a firebrand leader of AAP, levelled allegations of delay of investigations in a water tanker scam worth Rs 400 crore against CM Kejriwal, after which he was sacked from the party in 2017. Alka Lamba had joined AAP after leaving Congress in December 2014, but she left AAP in September 2019 and went back Congress.

In 2018, journalist-turned-politician Ashutosh left AAP after accusing the party top brass of playing 'caste politics'. Ashish Khetan, who played a major role in its campaigning, also quit citing personal reasons. Many others have also abandoned the party they had dreamed of since it came to power in Delhi. And now, the corruption cases are coming one after the other.

What has gone wrong with AAP? The question coming up in people's minds perhaps has the answer hidden in Ashutosh's article in which he said: "In the last ten years, no doubt AAP's growth as a political party has been phenomenal but the experiment which was unleashed by Kejriwal and his team has gone astray and I see no difference between them and other political parties."

The party which was born from a civil society movement against corruption is now no different. BJP is accusing AAP of corruption even in the education department and mohalla clinics. Kejriwal and other AAP leaders have been counter attacking BJP and the Centre for harassing its leaders. He said: "PM Modi has put Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain in jail on false cases and embraced the one looting the country."

Sisodia on Saturday (March 11) sent a message from Tihar jail through his tweet and took a swipe at the BJP. The senior AAP leader, in an apparent veiled attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi said: "Sir, you can trouble me by putting me in jail. But can't break my spirits." AAP may be trying to put a brave front, but the Court's observations further weaken their case. Special Judge MK Nagpal made observations while remanding Sisodia to seven days of ED custody in the money laundering case till March 17 that Sisodia was not only the Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi at the relevant time but also the Excise Minister and hence, was directly responsible for framing as well as implementation of the excise policy.

"Thus, as per allegations made in this remand application, the accused was instrumental at every stage of formulation as well as implementation of the excise policy and he appears to be connected not only with generation of proceeds of crime, but also its repayment," the court said.

The happenings have jolted the people, who had dreamed of AAP to be a party on a mission to cleanse the political system and realise the people's participation in the process.

November 26, 2022, Kejriwal had tweeted: "...Today, the Aam Aadmi Party has become the new hope of the people of the country. We are trustworthy." Over three months later, the trust seems shaken. AAP has a lot to answer in court of law and in people's court as well.