After suffering a loss in the Delhi Assembly polls in February, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has taken on the role of the Opposition even in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) despite winning the civic body polls in 2022. Since then, party supremo and the top leadership has spent a considerable time in Punjab, the only state where the AAP is in power at present. The Indian Express spoke to senior AAP leader and former Delhi Chief Minister Atishi about the party’s expansion plans, its role as the Opposition, and the INDIA bloc.
Atishi: It is the first 100 days of the government that set the vision, mission, tone, and tenor for the entire tenure. If you look at the first 100 days of any new government — and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power after 27 years — one would think there would be big-ticket decisions, major decisions about what their priorities are, what they intend to do in the next five years. This is what the people of Delhi would have been expecting. (But) If you see their (the BJP’s) first 100 days, they are marked by the collapse of the already existing, the already running systems, things that were already in auto mode in Delhi. Secondly, there is not a single major decision or policy that they have implemented… There is no trace of their promise related to the Rs 2,500 monthly payout, free gas cylinders, the honorarium to pujaris, granthis… The only thing they have done is implement one or two schemes of the Centre… Contrast this with when Arvind Kejriwal became the CM (for the first time). In the 49-day government, within 48 hours, old water bills were waived and 20,000 litres was made free. Within 72 hours, a subsidy of 50% on electricity bills was passed. We were a new party…but you (the BJP) don’t even have any issues that we were facing – obstruction from the Central government, bureaucracy, the L-G; you have full power. Still, you have not been able to take a single big-ticket decision?
Besides, there were things such as 24×7 electricity supply… Power cuts were something that Delhi had never seen. It was a functional system. And you have brought that to a standstill. Similar is the case with private school fees. (During the AAP government), there was a system in place with regard to fees of private schools, there were audits, evaluation of accounts…
Complete cooperation – from the Centre to the bureaucracy to the L-G’s office – has been on display during the first 100 days of the BJP government. What is the difference between your administration and the current one in this respect?
Atishi: In a democracy, a government is accountable to its voters and to the people. Aap pyar-mohabbat se kaam karwate ho, ya lad-jhagad ke (You get work done cordially or by fighting). Any government will be judged by what it delivers to the people. So, the question is not whether we (the Delhi government and the Centre) are best friends or enemies; that is not relevant. The question is, who is able to deliver? Why just the L-G office… Take the bureaucrats, then there’s the central government, the police… Okay, there is cooperation, there is bonhomie; but what is the outcome of that? Any government has to be judged not by its means, but by its ends… by what it has been able to deliver.
All the ongoing projects in Delhi have come to a standstill. Development works under our MLALAD (Member of Legislative Assembly Local Area Development) funds are now getting stalled because contractors have not been paid. Why? Because they (the present Delhi government) have brought in a farzi (fake) Rs 1 lakh crore budget, which no department is being allowed to spend. There is a total administrative collapse on that end. With respect to your promises, where are your free cylinders, the Rs 2,500 payout? We (the AAP) were not the ones that had set a date for its disbursal on March 8. That date was given by the tallest leader of their party, right? Now they are saying it will take time. Then on what front are you actually delivering anything?
Following the AAP’s loss in the Assembly elections, there has been a very clear shift by the top two leaders of your party towards Punjab. What is the party’s plan for the Capital, specifically, given the fact that the AAP in Delhi and Arvind Kejriwal are synonymous?
Atishi: I don’t entirely agree that Kejriwal ji and Manish Sisodia ji are only in Punjab. Manish ji, of course, is the prabhari (incharge) of the state. So, obviously he’s going to be there. By that logic, Gopal Rai ji is in Gujarat. Whoever is the prabhari of any state (is there). Both with Punjab and Gujarat, in the next couple of years, you have elections coming. If he (Sisodia) was, say, the in-charge of Goa, he would have been there. Kejriwal was not just Delhi CM, he has also been the face of the party since he is also its national convener. He is not just Punjab-focussed; currently, he is party organisation-focussed across the country. Especially in areas where we are going to be contesting elections, which include Goa, Gujarat, Punjab, and also, the upcoming MCD polls. He has had public appearances, which depend on where the political activity is taking place across the country. He (Kejriwal) is now focussing on building the party nationally.
Is there a sense of disappointment in the party with the public following the loss in Delhi elections?
Atishi: Of course, there’s disappointment when you lose elections. Especially because no effort was spared in terms of delivering to the people of Delhi. But I also feel that this election has not been won fair and square… the way various works, governance, delivery was stopped for the last three years using the office of the L-G, the bureaucracy, the Chief Secretary. Even in the election process… I have personally contested three elections in Delhi; we have also presided over others contesting their own elections – the MCD polls, Lok Sabha, etc. The kind of administrative bias witnessed in the elections has never been seen before. The administration, the police, the District Magistrates (DMs)… the entire machinery is in the pocket of the government. But despite all this – there is just a two percentage point difference in vote share (of the AAP and the BJP) – 43.5% and 45.5%. I would say that while we are disappointed, we do appreciate the fact that despite all of this, the people of Delhi have shown faith in us.
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You mentioned the MCD. How big of a role did AAP winning the civic body polls have in the party’s defeat in the Assembly elections?
Atishi: It is not a question of winning MCD. The problem was that MCD was also fully controlled by the central government. The fact that the Mayoral elections were not allowed to be held, the standing committee was not allowed to be formed, an officer who is a known obstacle creator was appointed as (MCD) Commissioner… If we had control on the officers in the MCD, work would have been done. Since this was not the case, work was stalled in the MCD just like in the Delhi government… But now, the good thing is that the BJP has all the levers of power (in the city) at the moment.
How did this impact your showing in the Delhi Assembly elections?
Atishi: In the last two-three years, there was a concerted effort to stop work. Residents with overflowing sewers outside their homes, garbage strewn about are certainly impacted. A doubt is developed in their minds about whether or not this government is working at all or is it just engaged in confrontation. This gave rise to the possibility that if the BJP came to power, and there is no confrontation, governance would be better. This was definitely a fact in the people’s minds. Which is why I said it is very good that the BJP now has all the levers of government… A news anchor had recently asked the CM that all you are doing is criticising the AAP government but what will you do? She (CM Rekha Gupta) had said there would be no waterlogging this year… There were two pre-monsoon rains. We saw what happened. I feel that now that the people have elected the BJP, the government needs to deliver on the promises made. I believe that the people are now seeing the reality. There is definitely a sentiment among many groups of people in Delhi, that ‘we have made a mistake’.
For example, parents had come to meet me (regarding the fee hike issue). They said they did not realise it earlier that Kejriwal used to fight for them. “Now that we are having to fight, we understand,” they said. AAP went against many vested interests that is why we may have been seen as fighting. But those fights mean, for example, that we could provide 24X7 power because we could control things. Why were we able to take water to so many areas that had never seen supply? Because we were ready to fight against the tanker mafia… we were willing to take on the entire private school lobby. When you take on such vested interests, you will obviously be seen as fighting.
How does the AAP view its role in the MCD now?
Atishi: Just as in the Delhi government, I think we are a strong Opposition voice. We are the ones who played a big role in getting the user charges revoked. That is the role of the Opposition. Both in the MCD and in the Delhi government, the AAP is the voice of the Opposition…
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Are we going to see the AAP contesting the mayoral election next year?
Atishi: Hum iss jod-tod main interested nahi hain (we are not interested in these calculations). We are not going to go down this road… promise someone a position or money… We are not interested in this kind of politics. Let the BJP have all the levers of power, all institutions, let the people of Delhi see. One of the biggest reasons for the people of Delhi voting for the BJP is that they felt that if there was a single party in power at all levels, there might be no conflict and more work would happen… Let the BJP deliver. Let the people of Delhi see when Rs 2,500 is deposited in their accounts. Let the people of Delhi see what it means for private school fees… what it means for children who are studying in government schools. Who is talking about government school children? Results for so many competitive exams have come, the government has not even reacted. This is a question of the priorities of the government.
Are all levels of governance in Delhi being controlled by the Centre now?
Atishi: It doesn’t matter. Let them deliver. Now they have all the levers of power. Let them show what a double-engine, triple-engine or four- engine government can do. Let the PMO (PM’s office) run the government but it has to do something. A couple of days ago, the Madrasi camp slum was demolished, look at the plight of the people there. One of their (BJP’s) promises has been ‘jahan jhuggi, vahan makaan’ (permanent housing where the slum is) … Why did you not give them homes in a 5-kilometre radius…? Even if (PM Narendra) Modi ji runs the Delhi government, even if he or Amit Shah ji becomes the CM, the only thing that we would ask is for work to get done.
AAP chose to stay away from the INDIA bloc meeting called by the Congress. Where does the alliance stand today?
Atishi: The alliance comprises parties that have had a lot of differences among themselves. It came about because they felt, despite all differences, that the BJP is a bigger risk to this country than anything that has been seen so far. It was not something that we were just saying for the sake of it. Their own MPs were saying that they would change the Constitution if they go beyond 400 seats. This is the reason why the INDIA bloc came together… Now, the Congress is a national party, it has presence in all states. There is an alliance dharma, abiding by which is not the job of only the smaller parties. It is the larger alliance partner that has to bring people together… You see, Rahul Gandhi goes to Kerala and trashes the CPM… Is that not the language of the BJP that is filing cases against Pinarayi Vijayan’s daughter, and others…?
You have said that the tallest leaders of the Congress seem to be talking the BJP’s language. Why is that so?
Atishi: There seems to be an unstated alliance between the Congress and the BJP. In the Delhi excise policy matter (there was) no recovery of money, no evidence… par saare neta hamare jail chale gaye; par National Herald case mein Congress ka ek bhi neta jail nahin gaya hai (All our leaders went to jail in the Delhi excise policy matter, but not a single Congress leader has gone to jail in the Herald case). How has this happened… This entire DLF land ‘scam’ – has Robert Vadra gone to jail? Commonwealth Games ka to poora matter hi close ho gaya (the entire CWG case has been closed). Just look at the pattern – it is only cases of leaders who join the BJP that are closed… A similar thing is happening with the Congress. What does this pattern tell you? You are filing cases against the TMC’s Abhishek Banerjee, against the daughter of Vijayan – why doesn’t this happen when it comes to the Congress? Why do their leaders not go to jail? So, there is definitely an unstated alliance.
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Do you think there is space for a third front?
Atishi: I think that there is definitely a need for non-Congress, non-BJP parties to think about what is happening in the country and the rights of states, the way the persecution of their leaders, etc, is happening – it (third front) is definitely something to think about.
I would say I am disappointed with the Congress (its role in the INDIA bloc). It was their responsibility to assume a leadership position. For example, if I am a CM …it is my role to take everyone along… I feel that in the INDIA bloc, Congress is the senior-most party. It is the biggest party. It has got a footprint in all states. In that context, it was the Congress’s responsibility to take everyone along.