Rift Within Aam Admi Party a Cause of Concern

Aam Admi Party is little over a year old and the fissures are already to be seen within the political entity. In what can be termed as a first sign of rebellion within AAP, the party MLA Vinod Binny has come out in the public to let people know about “the truth behind AAP and Kejriwal.” Some rapid developments took place this week with Binny reaching out to Anna Hazare with his alleged grievances against the party leader. His rather poignant remark came just before his meeting with the anti-corruption activist. There’s a strong undercurrent of bitterness between the two as he went on to add that there is a marked difference in words and actions of the party, which has “deviated from its core agenda.”

Like a Spartan committed to his service to the people, Binny pontificated the fact that AAP has grown arrogant after having formed government in Delhi. Taking a strong jibe at AAP, he stated that the party has surpassed even Congress in developing arrogance within such a short span of time. It was only a few days back that the disgruntled MLA had described the AAP leader as an autocrat. Kejriwal’s aides were also not spared from his fangs. They were blatantly tagged as ‘opportunists’.

The senior party leader Yogendra Yadav tried to rebut in a convincing manner by questioning Binny’s intentions behind such vilification campaign and explaining the allegations as unfounded. As a common man, who was forced by the circumstances to see political fraternity in suspicion, the allegations leave enough space to doubt AAP’s integrity. The spat is enough fodder for our mind to be curious about the working mechanism of this party that claims having democratized political processes.

The controversy seems to be taken straight from the plot of ‘Macbeth’ where we find the following caveat: “They win us with honest trifles, to betray us in deepest consequence.” The pre-poll promises are all heard loud and clear by the aam admi and they have reposed much valuable faith on the newcomer. With an ugly squabble coming into the foreground that faith quotient is likely to see a dip.

Binny has been ruthless in his remarks against AAP as he literally accused the party of having no intention to propel good governance.  If his views are to be taken at face value, they transpire into a sheer discordance and trust deficit within the party. Is he hinting at a known malady that politics has long been affected with? The allegations leveled by Vinod Binny may be trashed as untrue, as some senior leaders did, but what if these allegations are proven true.

It is tad early to conjecture whether AAP and the party leadership is straying from its objectives, but one question that pops up is whether the party has become a prey to the usual dynamics of Indian politics? Common people are also anxious and they want to know whether this pro-people party has changed its course and bartered its tall ideals for more power.

The AAP MLA’s accusatory tone and his specific allegations lose their sheen when we read about Kejriwal’s aggressive stand on initiating actions against corrupt officials and ministers linked to 2010 Commonwealth Games and Delhi Jal Board. As a well-wisher of democracy and good governance, I sincerely wish there’s no foul play within AAP. I also request Delhi CM to follow the same path he was treading before coming into prominence. He would do Delhi and politics a word of good if he can enforce discipline and protocols when it comes to functioning.