Cong: From drubbing to position of 'power' AAP : Unmandated Government
- Sangai Express Editorial :: December 24, 2013 -

Kejriwal has bitten the bullet and as far as the compulsion of political dynamics is concerned, it is a win-win situation for the Congress.

Call it an irony.

From the drubbing it received in the election to the Delhi Legislative Assembly, winning only 8 seats, today, the Congress has converted this humiliating loss to an advantage to play a key role in the decision making process of the party which will head the Government, the Aam Aadmi Party in this case.

Mauled at the election but 'victorious' in Government formation, that is the Congress at Delhi today.

The BJP did the right thing in turning down the offer to form the Government, though it emerged the single largest party after the election with 31 MLAs.

A wise move, one would say, keeping in mind the upcoming Lok Sabha election.

As for the AAP, it has justified its decision by referring to the 'referendum' and the series of meetings, nearly 300 meetings in fact, it conducted on Government formation.

Hard to understand what this referendum and the meetings were all about, for the election verdict itself was clear.

To be sure, the AAP with 28 MLAs in its kitty put up a very impressive show, but putting up an impressive show and getting the undiluted mandate of the people to form the Government are two entirely different things.

True, no other party was also mandated to form the Government but the AAP could have handled the matter better by taking a leaf out from the BJP, which refused to form the Government though it emerged the single largest party.

The best thing for the AAP would have been to sit on the Opposition or wait for a fresh poll.

As for the Congress, they have everything going their way now.

With only 8 MLAs they will be in a position to call the shots and make their presence felt much more prominently than what the number of 8 would suggest.

A minority Government, with outside support is a dicey matter and for a party which has just made an impressive debut in electoral politics, the AAP has taken a gamble, which has all the ingredients to make it prove counter productive in the long run.

Granted, it may not be all lose-lose for the AAP, and the 'referendum' may actually reflect that the people want the AAP to form the Government.

But as the system goes, it is not the 'referendum' nor the second opinion of the people which will call the shots in governance and decision making process, but the 8 Congress MLAs.

It is the stand and voice of these 8 MLAs which will matter once the Government is sworn in and not the people who encouraged the AAP to form the Government during the 'referendum'.

It remains to be seen how the AAP manages to take its street politics to the corridors of power and make a difference.

It is early days yet and anything may happen in the near future, especially in the run up to the Lok Sabha election slated to be held sometime next year but what can be said with a degree of certainty is the fact that the Congress has managed to turn the humiliating drubbing it received at the election to some sort of a 'victory' in Government formation at Delhi.

Creating a situation where a party with only 8 MLAs in a House of 70 can decide how the Government should go about with the business of governance and here the oldest political party cannot be faulted on fine tuning the art of politicking.

Outside support is a comfortable position, for invariably it means, power and influence without responsibility.

It will be interesting to see how the AAP manages to walk the tight rope.

It cannot afford to lose the support of the 8 Congress MLAs and yet at the same time it cannot afford to portray itself as a party depending on the fancy and whims of only 8 MLAs to survive.

Arvind Kejriwal has taken the plunge but be sure he will be regularly swimming against the tide.