ArpitGarg's Weblog

AAP rejoiced in the Supreme Court victory this week. But is it anything to cheer? I don’t think so. Agreed that BJP has not let AAP function in Delhi but what else did they expect? That BJP will lay roses? It is politics and a cut throat one at that. What BJP did was as expected.

The real failure of Kejriwal and Aam Aadmi Party has not been the governance in Delhi; it has been that they haven’t grown beyond Delhi in last three years. They tried in Punjab and Goa but went nowhere. They tried to punch much above their weight and hence the failure. In hindsight, they know what they should have done. There is still time to do things right. Instead of targeting state elections, which require vast sums of money and a large number of party workers, and AAP fell short on both front in Punjab and Goa.

They know the should have targeted municipal elections in metro cities where they had a good following. They forte is door-to-door campaigning, and the small electorate would have helped with that. There is still time. Target one city at a time. Build your base, build your political capital. Keep fighting in Delhi, but time is running out for you. You have to grow beyond the city.
Put your head together, start fighting municipal elections. Prove yourself with excellent results. Metros are where rich people live, and they will contribute money if you give them good infrastructure and living conditions. I am not sure what your game plan is. It looks like you will go big in 2019 general elections. I would advise against that.

Time to realize that BJP has not been your biggest enemy, your vision has been. The real failure of Kejriwal lies in not being able to show the right direction to the party and hence not able to grow beyond Delhi.