Delhi rewards authoritarianism

The Bharatiya Janata Partyrsquos BJP victory in the Delhi Assembly elections was built upon its strategy of tying up the arms of its principal rival Aam Aadmi Party AAP many many months before the race to win the elections even began It is a wonder the AAP still ran hard managing a vote share just 36 percentage points less than that of the BJPled alliance before eventually stumbling and fallingThe Narendra Modi government tied up the AAPrsquos arms by setting aside Supreme Court rulings through what were in reality ldquobackdoor amendmentsrdquo of the Constitution For one it bound the Delhi government to seek the lieutenant governorrsquos opinion before taking any executive action based on a Cabinet decision The LG could delay and even sabotage executive measures For another the Centre wrested control from the Delhi government over the Union territoryrsquos bureaucracyThe LG and bureaucrats combined to impede the AAP government as the Supreme Court had apprehended from giving ldquoexpression to the will of the people who elected itrdquo Governance appeared messy and lackadaisical Bureaucrats defied their political masters with impunity Funds for popular schemes were denied or delayed The issues of Delhiites were neglected because of the duel between the AAP and the BJP for supremacyYet 4357 per cent of the voters rallied behind the AAP a drop of 10 per cent from the votes the party polled in 2020 Who among the AAPrsquos 2020 voters stuck to the party and who deserted it It seems the lower classescastes used the elections to express their gratitude to the AAP for its welfare measures and for boosting the healthcare and educational infrastructure These measures had little appeal for the relatively privileged groups among whom the BJP is mostly favoured for its Hindutva ideology and economic policiesThe AAPrsquos defeat should alarm the Opposition for the Delhi results show voters do not necessarily punish the party ruling at the Centre for eroding federalism and snatching the powers belonging to a state or Union territory People are willing to live with authoritarianism in exchange for protecting or enhancing their pecuniary interestsmdashand for resolving myriad issues of their daily existence The more privileged the voter the more likely hisher indifference to authoritarianism borne out by their desertion of the AAP Governors will now feel emboldened to harass Opposition chief ministersThe AAPrsquos anticorruption image was certainly sullied because of the cases the central agencies lodged against Kejriwal and others over their liquor policy The evidence against them is thin with the cases based on the statements of approvers a point the Supreme Court made during a hearing Nevertheless the arrest of their top leaders months before the elections paralysed the AAP apart from fuelling the narrative that it has degenerated into yet another mainstream party This narrative had more takers among the relatively wealthier groups than those less so for whom the easing of the harshness of their daily life matters more than corruptionFor the segment of the middle class opposed to the BJP the AAP ceased to represent idealismmdasha bunch of citizens sacrificing their careers to build a better India The plush chief ministerial residence popularised as Sheesh Mahal that Kejriwal built during his tenure eloquently symbolised the abandoning of lofty ideals No longer did the party attract as it did earlier middleclass volunteers whose zeal had contributed to the AAP winning the battle of perceptions Their absence was tellingly felt this time round for the AAP didnrsquot issue because of the paucity of funds TV newspaper or radio advertisementsIt has to be seen whether the AAP will pugnaciously fight back or melt away into oblivion The silver lining for the AAP in the gloom of defeat is that a segment of its 22 MLAs belongs to its original core team hardened by street politics Yet the seemingly insuperable will of Opposition politicians has bent elsewhere in India out of the fear of Central agencies The BJP will likely persist in hounding AAP leaders The impact of the Delhi results on the AAP government in Punjab could unfold in unforeseen waysAs for the partyrsquos future much will depend upon the extent to which Kejriwalrsquos 10 years in power have eroded his capacity for street politics He will have to ensure that subaltern casteclass groups and Muslims on whose support the AAP bagged 4357 per cent of votes do not drift away from the party Gleeful at the AAPrsquos defeat the Congress believes it can woo back its traditional supporters whom Kejriwal hijacked a decade ago Both the Congress and AAP will have to countenance the BJP using policies and ideology for consolidating even expanding the support base it has acquired in these electionsEven more significantly the BJPrsquos successive victories in three statesmdashHaryana Maharashtra and now Delhimdashhave established that its setback in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections was a mere aberration It will now eye Bihar where elections are due later this year Sleuths knocking on Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadavrsquos door should not surprise anyone for Delhi has shown authoritarianism does not universally anger peopleThe writer is a senior journalist and author of Bhima Koregaon Challenging CasteSend your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper