A case of many lost opportunities
With two years left, AAP must deliver on its historic mandate
The Aam Aadmi Party, which rode to power on a landslide victory in Delhi, has completed three years in government. The new party had set a high benchmark for itself by promising a different brand of politics and governance. In government, AAP did think out-of-the-box in addressing the issues of public health and education and delivered on the pro-poor promises of introducing consumption-based water and power tariffs. However, its much-vaunted governance has been mired in endless controversy. A certain ad-hocism frequently marred the AAP government’s decision making.
While the disqualification of 20 MLAS on the ground of holding an office of profit has been the most recent setback, a typical lack of foresight has hampered government initiatives such as expansion of the mohalla clinics or procurement of buses for the Delhi Transport Corporation. The mohalla clinic project could have resurrected the ragtag primary healthcare machinery in Delhi and served as a template of reform for other Indian states. The government promised to open 1,000 such clinics in five years. Three years on, not more than 160 are functional. A fleet of 5,000 buses, as promised in the party’s election manifesto, could have gone a long way in solving the capital’s public transport woes. Three years down, not a single bus has been added because the government could not float suitable tenders. And when the pollution levels peaked in November, the city administration responded with a high-decibel blame game. Other promises — opening canteens to sell subsidised food and making the water in Yamuna fit for bathing in three years — are now forgotten.
The face-offs with the lieutenant governor’s office, the Centre and its own bureaucracy have not helped the AAP government’s administrative efficiency. Its image has also taken a hit for failing to find a way around deadlocks. For many stakeholders, the scale and background of the AAP’S electoral triumph in 2015 heralded a potential watershed moment in India’s politics. The party has only two more years to rise above its confrontationist, populist image and make the most of that historic mandate.