Sunday, December 02, 2012

Possible impact of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)

Arvind Kejriwal, the promoter of AAP, has decided that his party will contest elections without allying with corrupt elements. This effectively means that AAP will not tie up with any existing party. It will be an interesting scenario the shape of which is hard to guess.

However it is reasonable to believe that AAP will not have adequate financial muscle to see its way through in more than a few constituencies. At best, it may play spoilsport and enable one corrupt candidate to widen his victory margin over a less corrupt candidate.

Why do we say so? Suppose a contest is essentially between two parties as of now. The voters know that both parties are dishonest and corrupt. Public perception will also be that one of the two candidates (or parties) is less corrupt than the other. Say the perception is X is less corrupt than Y. Before AAP enters the fray, the exceptional voters who attach a lot of importance to political honesty would have voted for X. Only such voters will shift their allegiance to AAP. The inevitable consequence will be that the more corrupt party will romp home with comfortable majority.

It may be an irony. But politics and irony are close cousins.

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