AAP’s Dharna is Over, But What Did it Really Accomplish?

What did the AAP gain after sitting on dharna for 9 days? What did the Congress do wrong? What did the BJP do right?

After a 9-day protest, the Lieutenant Governor agreed to meet Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia. File photo.

(Photo: The Quint)

After sitting in protest at Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal’s residence since 11 June, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal called off his dharna on Tuesday, 19 June.

Kejriwal and other senior leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party staged a sit-in at Baijal's residence, demanding that the L-G meet them and address two important concerns:

1. The AAP wanted the L-G to direct IAS officers to attend meetings called by the Delhi government. AAP leaders claimed IAS officers failed to attend meetings on important issues including the installation of CCTV cameras, implementation of a mid-day meal scheme, and more.

2. Approval of a proposal for doorstep delivery of rations in the capital.

What was the result of the nine-day dharna?

What Did the AAP Gain?

1. After the meeting with the L-G at the Secretariat, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia claimed that IAS officers started attending meetings that the party called.
2. Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash, who was involved in an altercation with Kejriwal in February, also attended the meeting at the Delhi Secretariat.

The AAP received support from Mamata Banerjee, HD Kumaraswamy, Chandrababu Naidu, and Pinarayi Vijayan, the Chief Ministers of West Bengal, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala, respectively, as well as the Shiv Sena, the Samajwadi Party, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Janata Dal (United).

• The AAP, which had recently been in the shadows, hit headlines once again, finding space on several primetime debates.
• After claiming that the “Centre was pressurising IAS officers” in Delhi, the AAP used the opportunity to push its demand for full statehood for New Delhi, once again. After ending his dharna, Kejriwal said he would “continue to struggle” till Delhi received full statehood.
• The AAP received another shot at making its voice heard in the debate about national politics by accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of using his office to interfere in the governance of the capital.

What Did Not Work for the AAP?

Whether the AAP’s protest, and their demands, resonated with the aam aadmi, is debatable, with some citizens criticising Kejriwal for being Delhi’s “Dharna Man”.

1. The government was accused of being missing in action while the capital reeled from an overwhelming water crisis. The Bharatiya Janata Party in Delhi staged their own dharna against Kejriwal’s “non-performance of duties” from 13 June.
2. The media’s reaction to the country’s capital being paralysed for nine days, was relatively muted. The collapse of the government in J&K, triggered by the dissolution of the BJP-PDP alliance drew the media’s focus away from the protest.
3. While the support from Opposition party leaders like Banerjee and Kumaraswamy is encouraging, the Congress, which may look to anchor an Opposition alliance in 2019, did not invite Kejriwal to the iftaar party that it hosted, and took a sharp stance against both the AAP and the BJP.
4. The protest may have further singled out the AAP as a party that’s not only a political outcast, but also as an entity that could not cooperate with bureaucrats who run the government.

What Was in It for the BJP?

File photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah.(Photo: PTI)

1. The BJP’s Delhi unit staged its own dharna against Kejriwal’s sit-in protest, pointing out that the Delhi CM’s dharna came during one of the worst water crises faced by the capital.
2. The protest by the BJP’s unit in Delhi as well as a petition filed by the Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta, was targeted at the AAP government’s “willingness to ignore citizens’ welfare”.
3. The BJP’s dharna, led by Gupta, also brought the party’s Delhi unit, which seldom makes news, into the headlines.

What Was in It for the Congress?

Congress President Rahul Gandhi in a file photo.(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/@INCIndia)

1. The Congress was critical of the chief minister’s dharna, and unlike many other Opposition parties, refused to support the AAP’s protest. As a result, the party denied ‘political oxygen’ to fuel the AAP.
2. The Congress, by criticising both the BJP as well as the AAP, differentiated its agenda from the other Opposition parties, as a party that is both ‘anti-Modi’ and ‘anti-Kejriwal’.

• Some critics have pointed out that due to the Congress' refusal to engage with the AAP, the party could be reduced to a political outcast ahead of 2019.
• However, the Congress’ critique of AAP’s dharna during one of the worst water crises in the capital, also provided its leaders in Delhi a chance to reclaim the favour of Delhi residents.