Month: March 2014

Helicopter netas in the age of retail politics

In the early 1990s when Bill Clinton was campaigning for the US Presidency he permanently transformed the way Americans (and to a large extent the world) looked at Presidential campaigns. Hailing from a relatively small southern state, Bill Clinton turned on his rustic charm and reached out to people at coffee shops, fast food joints, restaurants, parks, malls you name it. He was indulging in “retail politics” like no politician had managed to do before. A product of a small town upbringing, he was a natural at this. His ability to connect one on one with people in person was phenomenal. He extended that rapport on to the TV screen during his debates. His brilliant mind and his thorough grasp of the issues further helped him stand out. Not surprisingly he went on to win two elections and led America through two terms of economic boom.

Fast forward of couple of decades and here we are in India at a time when the economy is in the tank, the ruling party is plagued by corruption and mis-governance and the opposition BJP on a rampant bid for coalition partners in a desperate attempt to achieve the the magic number of 272 seats at any cost.

 

Only in AAP’s India: The story of Maya Vishwakarma

It was January 2014 and Maya Vishwakarma had just quit the cosy comfort of her job in California to pursue her idealitic dream of cleansing her motherland of corruption and nepotism. Riding on a high wave of optimism following the unprecedented success of the Aam Aadmi Party in the Delhi elections, and inspired by the noble vision of its leader Arvind Kejriwal, this young woman landed at Indira Gandhi International Airport airborne on the wings of hope.

As Maya passed through security check to board a connecting flight from New Delhi to Bhopal, she didn’t realize she had presented herself at the VIP counter. Seeing her in the distinctive AAP t-shirt, a security guard remarked jocularly, “Madam, ye khaas aadmi ke liye hain aapka ticket to aam aadmi ka hai!” (Madam. this line is for special persons, your ticket is for common people!) Another police officer said, “Please come this way. We will treat you as a special person today because your party is doing such excellent work.”

Click here to read the rest of the article in The Economic Times

Politically Inspired Technology – The AAP’s my.aamaadmiparty.org platform

Very often, you find new technologies in search of a market. But in other instances, it is the reverse; new technology solutions are developed to address a specific need and then it turns out to be a winner. The rise of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has created some interesting opportunities for its young and technology savvy members to channelize their skills to solve pressing campaign problems. One of the primary goals of any political party involved in a campaign is to get access to data or information about its voters, its supporters, its members, its donors, etc. These “users” are scattered out across the globe and their identities are buried in various email systems, social networks and other Internet platforms. People from all over the world using a plethora of devices such as computers, phones, tablets, etc., to access and consume information, unwittingly leaving traces of their identity at most places. Then, in the physical world we have the age old technique of pen and paper based registration, hand written cheques, etc.

Click here to read the rest of the article in The Economic Times

Delhi Government Resignation Re-visited

Is the middle class starting to have second thoughts about the Aam Aadmi Party? A key issue that seems to be bothering their minds is the recent resignation of the Kejriwal government in Delhi. There are some who say, “You had an opportunity to govern but you threw it all away because you were too ambitious and wanted to grow bigger, faster – let the BJP govern in 2014 and we’ll vote for you in 2019.” A simple thought comes to mind: Can we tolerate such extreme corruption in this country for another 5 years? Is choosing the lesser of the two evils the only way forward?

Let us retrace the steps leading up to the resignation of the Kejriwal government in Delhi.  When the Jan Lokpal bill was expected to be tabled in the assembly, Arvind Kejriwal had an on-stage interview in the midst of the Delhi Lit Festival where he had said categorically that if the bill can’t be passed, his government would resign. This was telecast live. The anchor was thrilled and at the same time surprised because, firstly, she knew she had just been delivered a TRP coup, and secondly, she was least expecting such a candid response from the young CM.

Click here to read the rest of the article in The Economic Times

The Misled, Misinformed Middle class

The middle class which heavily backed the Aam Aadmi party (AAP) during the Delhi elections appears to be having some second thoughts for a whole host of reasons. Let me address two of these pet peeves in this piece: We don’t like the subsidies for power and electricity, AAP is the B-team of the Congress and is being used by them to stop the Modi juggernaut.

I’ll start with the last one first, as it’s the easiest and the more ridiculous of the two. Firstly, these conspiracy theorists must ask themselves these questions: Who had the guts to expose Robert Vadera? It is an accepted reality that everyone (including those in the media and the BJP veterans in Delhi) knew about Mr. Vadera’s dealings but no one but Arvind Kejriwal  had the wherewithal to stand up to the high and mighty, and put everything at risk to bring to light serious charges of corruption. Besides, the ministers of the UPA government, most of whom were from the Congress, was alsoexposed by the then Team Anna. Would the B-team of the Congress strike at the very heart of the Congress? It just does not make sense whatsoever.

Click here to read the rest of the article in The Economic Times