Wasting a mandate

In February 2015, the AAP surpassed the wildest of expectations and swept the Delhi Assembly elections. The Congress, in power for three terms, got no seat. A resurgent BJP was routed in the city-state from which it ruled the country. It was the second-biggest election victory in India’s history — 67 of the total 70 seats. People of Delhi had never showed so much love for any other party.

But three years since AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal was sworn in as Chief Minister, the unprecedented mandate seems to have been lost — amid ugly fights for greater control over the national capital.

The alleged assault of Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash by two AAP MLAs at the Chief Minister’s residence on Monday midnight is unprecedented and marks a complete breakdown of the already soured equations between Kejriwal and bureaucrats.

But the AAP has always been locked in territorial battles with officials led by the Lieutenant Governor (L-G), who reports to the BJP government at the Centre. While governance has taken a severe beating, the AAP has been saying that the L-G office blocks its decisions — an allegation denied by the Centre.

In the last three years, the AAP government has had numerous stand-offs …read more