Corruption which spread like a disease in India under the influence of then Congress Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi is still the biggest issue plaguing the economy and it affects every citizen of the country. To many of our young voters you should note that the VP Singh Government in 1989 won on this basis but was short-lived. There is a lot of hope and hype about anti-corruption being a winnable strategy in national elections probably created by media hype. However, this remains to be seen at the end of May 2014.
The Delhi election was an anti-Congress vote. 40% of voters who voted for the INC in the 2008 state election voted for AAP, 9% of BJP’s voters for AAP and 51% of the rest voted for AAP. If the results of the Delhi state elections of 2013 are replicated in the 2014 national elections, the AAP will get only two seats in Delhi. The BJP could be the winner in the process. There are only 43 urban constituencies in the country. Thus, if the AAP’s appeal is restricted to urban areas, it will get a maximum of 43 seats and probably fewer. However, elections are also an emotional issue and the results could well be different.
Going by the example of Delhi, where corruption has gone down in the short term of the AAP, it would be right to
assume that the AAP’s appeal on the anti-corruption platform can work. The AAP’s economic policies on water and electricity in Delhi do not jell with its recent statement of not being against capitalism but being against
crony capitalism. However, AAP is absolutely right on the Gas allocated to Private Sector company Reliance Industries Ltd led by Mukesh Ambani.