10 December 2013, 10:49 AM IST
Even for committed AAP supporters, the party's performance might have come as a surprise. People looking for similar examples in Indian politics will probably come up with a blank. Some have mentioned the example of N T Rama Rao's TDP, which was formed nine months before the 1983 Andhra Pradesh elections and stormed to power. But that success could be ascribed to NTR's god-like status in AP.
There are examples outside India one could look to. The most recent perhaps is the dramatic rise of Italian comedian-turned politician Beppe Grillo's Five-Star Movement (M5S), which came third in this year's Italian elections in February, winning 109 of 630 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 54 of 315 seats in the Senate. Like AAP, Beppe banked on the voters' disillusionment with conventional politics. It contested local polls before the national elections. In interviews, Beppe repeatedly said M5S was not a party but citizens uniting in a movement. You can hear shades of the same from Arvind Kejriwal.
A similar phenomenon could be seen in Israel where Yesh Atid (which in Hebrew means 'There is a future') Party floated by Yair Lapid, TV anchor-turned-politician, in 2012 was placed second in Israel's national election in early 2013. Unlike Beppe, Lapid formed a coalition with the leading party, Likud, and was appointed finance minister.
There are other instances of groups like the Pirates Party, formed on the platform of internet rights and freedom of privacy, which have won enough votes since 2011 to enter four state parliaments in Germany. But in recent times its popularity has waned. Perhaps the protest party with the longest history is Germany's Green Party which won representation at the national level in 1983 and formed a coalition government between 1998 and 2005. It had roots in the protest movements of the 1960s and the environmental politics of the 1970s and is part of an international movement. It has rarely won over 10% of the national vote.
Instances of new parties doing well are thus not new. The presence of an alternative to traditional parties is the common thread that runs through the success of AAP and the examples from Italy and Israel. But there are important differences. Both Italy's M5S and Yesh Atid banked on celebrities. Kejriwal hardly had a national footprint before he got associated with Anna Hazare's movement. Thanks to the urban, public mood against corruption and media coverage, he has become a household name. That possibly explains why many voters voted AAP without a thought for who the party candidate was.
AAP's future and the replication of its model outside Delhi is now a subject of heated debate. Examples such as the Lok Satta Party in AP, which has not made much of an impact, is probably not that relevant. The electorate's mood and political equations are different. But looking at examples of antiestablishment parties in other countries could provide some clues to AAP's future.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Why Kejriwal may be the Goliath among Indian Davids
Dengan url
http://osteoporosista.blogspot.com/2013/12/why-kejriwal-may-be-goliath-among.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Why Kejriwal may be the Goliath among Indian Davids
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Why Kejriwal may be the Goliath among Indian Davids
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar