Gobsmacked!

You don’t say!
Darius Nakhoonwala

There is a horribly vulgar sounding word the English have for complete and total astonishment: gobsmacked. And that, folks, is what the leader writers were at the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) sudden ascent to power in the bonsai state of Delhi.

 

True, the TV channels hadn’t left much for anyone to say but, you know what, editorialists have to earn their keep and they did, with knobs on.

 

The Hindu, as is its wont, made large but mostly banal generalisations. “A disenchanted electorate is clearly behind the resounding mandate…” It was so surprised that Mr Kejriwal had decided to form the government that it even attributed wisdom to the BJP, rather than an allegation of villainy. “The Bharatiya Janata Party, which was ahead of the AAP by three seats, wisely decided not to form a government…”

 

The Indian Express was politely snide and patronising. “The party that made the disavowal of power its calling card, and which pledged to overhaul The System, will now preside over it in a minority government. It may not be the perfect debut Kejriwal had dreamed of. But his party has done well to step up to the moment. Having upended politics-as-usual, it now has the opportunity to have a go at conventional governance.”

 

Then it went on with barely suppressed glee to list all the problems that the fledgling government is likely to face. Easy edit, written in about 15 minutes, I would say.

 

The Telegraph, as has become de riguer for it these days, did some good if vacuous writing. “Indian politics has now got a new Sir Galahad. He promises to sweep away the muck, beginning with Delhi.” The rest was dross comprising questions that only time can answer and scepticism that all new boys attract. “There are many similar questions that have not received adequate answers from Mr Kejriwal and his party. The promise to remain squeaky clean is commendable, but this minimum expectation is no guarantee for efficiency.”

 

It did raise an important question, though, reminiscent of the times when its edits were not just exercises in space-filling. And the point was this: “The other problem is Mr Kejriwal’s obsession with direct democracy, which he wants to introduce in Delhi. Does this mean that for every important decision his government has to take, it will seek a referendum? The impracticality of such a suggestion requires no reiteration.”

 

The Times of India got it absolutely spot on when it said that “AAP had little choice but to take the plunge. Having transformed itself from a public movement to a mainstream political party, it could hardly make a virtue of sitting in the opposition.” 

Then it began to pout with disbelief. “There is considerable difference between electoral success and running a government... While AAP emerged as the second largest party in the Delhi election, some of its poll promises are simply unfeasible…AAP must tone down its populist policies and adopt a pragmatic approach. It must realise that all policies cannot be decided through referendums.” 

 

Then came the real worry: “…it must choose its battles carefully and temper its expansion plans. For example, contesting all Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat… AAP should confine itself to urban centres and focus on what it can deliver.”  

 

The Hindustan Times reminded Mr Kejriwal that “the task of delivering the goods in a sprawling and unwieldy city like Delhi is monumental. Here, the AAP has little experience and will have to learn on the job. It hopes that its record in Delhi will catapult it onto the national stage. But for this it needs to be decisive and not use this method of going back to the people for all decisions.” 

 

The Pioneer sounded miffed at Mr K’s decision to form the government. “The fact that it is just over a year old and has zero experience in governance, will serve both as an alibi and a liability… once the honeymoon is over the party will have to face the reality that performance and not rhetoric matters.” 

 

Then it stated a political truth everyone knows. “…it can be surmised that they have entered into a pact with the complete desire to break apart sooner than later.”

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