AAP is becoming overambitious again

Its nationwide agrarian protest must not be at the expense of governing Delhi

Fortune favours the brave, but this seems like sheer recklessness. Delhi chief minister and national convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Arvind Kejriwal has decided to launch a nationwide protest on June 10 over the agrarian distress. This he hopes will reach out to rural people across India and help expand the party’s base for future elections. This is commendable given the acute problems that farmers are facing. But politically, the party is going down the same route that did not pay off for it in the past — becoming too ambitious before consolidating. When it got the chance to make a real difference in Delhi for a second time, it frittered away its goodwill and time in a ruinous fight with the former lieutenant governor. In recent times, the party has been locked in a battle with the Election Commission of India arguing that the EVMs were rigged, leading to its defeat. A smart political party does not waste time on such things; it picks itself up, regroups and lives to fight another day. AAP has the huge task of governing Delhi and the excuse that others are not allowing it to work may be valid but wearing thin.

Mr Kejriwal’s combative style alone won’t work when Delhi is facing a scorching summer with all its attendant problems. He and his government should be seen to be addressing these rather than taking on a national issue in the hope that this will yield to future political gain. This is precisely the sort of cynical politics that AAP had said it would stay away from when it began. Recouping lost ground in Punjab should not be at the cost of Delhi. There were many schemes that the party began, among them mohalla clinics, that are in need of attention. No doubt the party is hobbled by the complicated nature of political power in Delhi, but it has not even been seen to try to deal with these since its poor showing in Punjab and the municipal elections in Delhi.

If one hoped that the recent defeats would have jolted AAP into some degree of realism, they are bound to be disappointed.