Why AAP?

National Agenda

1. Janlokpal

2. Right to Reject

3. Right to Recall

4. Political Decentralization through Swaraj

Run-up to Delhi Polls

5. Democratic, bottom's-up candidate selection process with Right to Reject and Recall provisions. No sale of ticket for candidates. You become a candidate only on recommendation of people & volunteers of your area.

6. No Tainted candidates. Cancellation of candidaure if proof of corruption / crime / bad character submitted. Only political party to welcome SC's verdict shunning criminals to become People's representatives 

7. Internal Lokpal

8. No two or more candidates / members from same family

9. ​Only political party in India under RTI's ambit

10. Real-time declaration of Donors & Donations. Only political party to ask donors to stop donations after achieving the set financial target.

11. The only political party in India to disclose its Income and Expenditure Statement

12. Abiding by EC's Code of Conduct for a level playing field during elections

13. Promoting Indianness and shunning divisive politics based on Caste/Religion/Creed/Community etc

14. Pol Khol - Showing courage to name & shame who's who of India in corruption scandals

15. Preparing separate Manifestos for each constituency in consultation with local residents, a pre-cursor to Swaraj

16. Helping rape victims get treatment & register FIRs

17. Women Security Initiative in Delhi

18. Active support to honest bureaucrats like Ashok Khemka, Durga Shakti etc

19. Transparency in Party's internal surveys. Asked the Media houses to declare their raw data but none responded to the challenge

20. Innovative campaigning

21. Credible National Executive & Political Affairs Committee. Swelling support of Eminent citizens, Defence Forces,NRIs & stifled honest politicians of incumbent political parties who understand what it takes for good governance

22. Self motivated young and old volunteers from all walks of life, leaving their jobs and working 'free' for AAP meeting out of pocket expenses for campaigning on their own.

23. Making Corruption the central issue for Polls. Axing of Vijay Goel by BJP is a clear pointer

24. AAP ka Jawaab explaining all rumors and allegations made against the party

Post victory in Delhi

25. Janlokpal on 29th Dec, 2013

26. 25 Commandos in each ward for providing security to Women, elderlies or citizens in danger

27. Swaraj Bill within 3-6 months

28. No VIP security / accomodation / red beacons for MLAs

29. Reduction in electricity prices by 50%.

30. Audits of Electricity Companies. License cancellation in case of non-cooperation.

31. 700 ltrs of free water to each and every household in Delhi every day

32. Crackdown on Water Tanker Mafia

33. Police Reforms

34. Judicial Reforms for speedy trials

35. Simplification of Tax laws to assist businessmen circumvent corruption

36. Pucca dwellings for Jhuggi clusters in Delhi

37. Channeling tax money to free quality education in govt. schools to make them as competent as private schools

38. Channeling tax money to provide quality yet affordable healthcare in govt. hospitals

39. Every major bill to be put up in public domain for review before enacting it as a law

Why the educated class need to BELIEVE and VOTE

India with a population of 1.2 bn, has a voting population of 800 mn, of which 700 mn are registered.

In 2009, UPA came back to power with only 58% nationwide voting (this is average turnout since independence: Source: Wikipedia). Remaining 40% of registered voters (or 50% of eligible voters) is what are called politically apathetic populace.

Of the total eligible population…50% DO NOT VOTE. Top reasons being…

1.       I’m a ghost :: “I don’t have a voter-ID card K“

2.     The workhorses :: Who will finish my chores?

3.       The Yo-class! :: “Voting ain’t fashionable…dating is…or POLLDAY is a HOLIDAY…zzzzzzzz”

4.       The pessimists (or probably realists till last elections) :: “My single vote can’t change anything!!” / "Sab chor hain"

For the 50% people who DID vote…their top reasons were:

5.       Uninformed sheep :: I’ll vote for whom my friends/family is voting

6.       Optimist :: I gotto vote for my country, even if it means choosing lesser evil of the lot

7.       Financially Poor :: I’m promised Rs. 100 to a Aakash Tablet

8.       Mentally Poor :: I need reservation/subsidy/vote for candidate of my caste/religion

If the Spread of 800 mn people (equivalent to no. 80) is considered as follows based on their financial situation:

Poor: Lower: Middle+Rich = 20:28:32

As per The Hindu blog, rural & lower middle income group is more politically involved in India than the proverbial 'comfortable' group. Hence, It is reasonable to deduce that…

A. Of 48 Poor+Lower

16 drop out – mainly because of 1 or 2
30 vote for reasons 5, 7 & 8
2 vote for reason 1

B. Of 32 Middle+Rich

24 drop out – because of 3 and 4

6 vote for 5 & 8

2 vote for 6

The RESULT: While a majority of this “apparently comfortable yet opinioned” class (37.5%) remains politically non-participant or self-centered; a handful of 'Polluticians" play separatist politics, mislead the gullible, Poor+Lower (37.5%) and create their own vote banks, constituting of 45% of eligible population (36/80) and 90% of participating voters (36/40) - (14.5 {INC} + 9.0 {BJP} + 2.5 (CPI) + 1.5 (TMC) +Others)

Immediate step: Adding 24 of the non-participating middle-class suffering from 3 & 4 & swinging uninformed 4 by educating those suffering from 5 & 8, the blessed ones could be increased from 10% to 50% (4 --> 32 out of 40 -> 64) .

Subsequently; Improve the lot of those suffering from 7 & educate those suffering from 5 & 8, to make it to 60% -> 70% -> 80% of those who are blessed with 6.

To compete, the ‘Polluticians’ will need to

Spend more money to get more people suffering from 7

give up their vote-banks and join hands, even to gain simple majority, which will not be acceptable to those suffering from 8. So…BOOM

Phrasing otherwise…

Of the eligible voters, India has an educated middle class population of 300 million (38%), living comfortably, which is educationally equipped enough to process information available through print and electronic media and understands the good and bad for this country. This middle class gives priority to good governance over religious & caste-driven politics, and more importantly, their vote, can’t be bought or misused, IF CAST.

The CATCH: 80% of this populace, falls under the category of 1-4 above (mostly 2 & 4) – constituting 30% of eligible voters.

The HOPE: There is still Category-6 which perhaps forming only 5% of eligible voters are lighting a hope.

ACTION NEEDED : 5% to join force with this dormant yet likewise populace of with this 30% & swing another 5% to sweep elections with easy majority of 50%.

CONCLUSION: If this 35% of comfortable middle class ends its political apathy, register for voter-ids, research for political agendas/alternatives, get their lazy asses out of their house on Polling day believing in the power of its vote, and vote for the right candidate…rest assured, the handful people misguiding the 45% of populace and breaking their votes to rule & loot the country will find it impossible to match the nos.

If only the educated class BELIEVE and VOTE for the right people in 2014, a change will not be a miracle, but a natural outcome.

A pivotal Assembly Election for all Indians

For a next-door IT Professional who just hit 30 few months back, there are lots of things to ​occupy his mind viz a viz salary, competency development, promotion, team management, deliverables,  that 'extra mile' during 9.15*5 and outside that...spouse, kids, care of ageing parents, EMIs, domestic budget, delayed vacations, ignored health and what not. But for me, a perennial thought seems to be overpowering, God knows since when, and that is "Will my country ever realise its true potential?" Whether one agrees or not, this ques impacts all Indians, and we all collectively determine the answer to it by our conscious or subconscious attitude and conduct.

Talking of attitude, first of all, those of us who are reading this piece should be very grateful to almighty, for we don't have to worry about our next meal or place to sleep, quite literally. There are others who are better off than these unfortunate souls, but only marginally. And together they form a majority of the 1.3 bn Indians present on this planet. If that is the situation after 66 yrs of self-rule, two bitter ques come to mind - 1. Why did we fight for Independence for almost a century and 2. For whose independence did we fight for? Dizzying scam figures, brutal rapes, state-sponsored genocides, untamed inflation, rude and corrupt police, toothless judiciary, crony capitalists, corrupt babus and unethical, even criminal, policymakers - is all one can sense in the environment that surrounds us.

But as they say, the night is darkest at the stroke of the dawn. And the dawn did appear when a group of social activists, under the umbrella of India Against Corruption, demanded the arrogant and apathetic government a strong anti-corruption law. The hopes were brightened by the sight of public support pouring out from all sections of society, unforeseen in independent India, underlining the pain and angst shared by all citizens. The law, popularly known as Janlokpal, was all about empowering the citizens to tackle corruption at all levels, and hence give them a shot at forming a country where they can live with self-esteem.

But the incumbent politicians were not to throw in the towel just because there were anti-corruption crusaders fasting till death and the masses were out on streets supporting their fight. They played their delaying politics to ensure that the movement loses its steam. And when nothing worked, challenged the social activists to prove that they indeed got nation's backing by getting elected and framing the law themselves. Looking at the situation in hand and convinced that Gandhian ways of protesting will not get them the required law, the architect of the movement,Arvind Kejriwal, adopted the constituional way to get things done i.e. to fight elections to draft this people friendly bill, even if that meant parting ways with the soul of the movement, Anna Hazare, who was against the idea of fighting elections as a political party right from the outset.

Its true that the intentions behind forming a political party needed public scrutiny, but if someone has followed the actions of the politicians-turned-activists over the last 15 months, one would agree that the outfit is walking the talk. Whether it is their candidate selection process or disclosing their financials or keeping out tainted candidates, Aam Aadmi Party or AAP in short, is setting unprecedented examples in Indian politics, something that appeals right to the heart of an honest Indian and strikes directly at the foundation of all smeared national and regional parties.

In december this year, AAP will make its electoral debut in Delhi. The impending Delhi Assembly elections will prove to be a pivotal point for Indian politics, as this is the acid test for the people of this country. A test where their determination to have a corruption free India will be tested. While a victory will show the way to the entire country, a defeat will make the perpetrators ever so bold in their acts of looting our country and putting it to shame at the global stage.

If ever there is a time when we need to let go of our individual selfishness, and stand together shoulder to shoulder as Indians, no matter which part of the planet we live in...it's now. We have given enough chances to incumbent parties and in return, lost our faith in good politics. Lets now back our good-intentioned brethrens, who have shown the courage to take upon themselves to do what all of us wanted from the bottom of our hearts - Make India a world-class country.