Post-mortem in AAP

At its first brainstorming session after voters rudely dispossessed it of notions of storming to power in Punjab, at first sight, the AAP's local leadership has perhaps succumbed to an easy temptation: blaming the outsider. If that was so, these self-styled crusaders for probity and transparency in public life should have raised the flag when the overbearing presence of Delhi leaders became palpable at every camera opportunity. Or when the then AAP Punjab Convener Sucha Singh Chhotepur was brusquely shown the door and several others permitted to drift away from the party. Perhaps it was expeditious to hold their counsel because the current incumbent was the surprise beneficiary of Chhotepur's ouster. The resolution blaming Delhi would also keep on the back-foot those leaders who seem to owe their place in the party to the durbar.  

Internal restlessness is natural in an outfit that had convinced itself that Punjab was a low-hanging fruit. It is commendable that the local leaders want substantial autonomy in taking corrective measures. Going by their observations, their ire is not against AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal. This is just as well because Kejriwal alone was the brand on which they based their pitch to the electorate. AAP's Punjab unit is not the first to trip while trying to strike a balance between local outlook and the imperatives of the national leadership. All national parties, including the BJP, though currently looking infallible, have had to grapple with this dichotomy.

AAP's state leadership has indicated that more soul-searching is in order. While examining the causes for its underperformance, it should also reorient its priorities on the lines suggested by Kejriwal who said that AAP is “not going to spend all life in fighting elections. Elections are small things.” Clearly the think-tank wants to position AAP as a party which gives preference to moral and social issues. This approach will stand it in good stead because the next polls are years away and it will help AAP get a fix on the linkages of caste, class and religion that undermined its performance in other regions.