What is the agenda of Aam Admi Party (AAP) in Madhya Pradesh ?

The national level leadership of AAP is currently active in raising the issue of inflated electricity and water Bills in the NCR Delhi region. Arvind Kejriwal and his Team has been able to garner enough support to assimilate anger and anguish on the issues related to the common  man the Aam Admi. The youths have been enrolled as Volunteers, Technical Supporters for electricity connections and the Legal  experts are working round the clock to register, record and systemize the steps for recoiling effect of the public anger. The Delhi Government has full support of an NGO-minded son of the Chief Minister who has been handling, sometimes mishandling the issues raised by AAP. The breakaway group from Anna Movement has been steering very well under the leadership of Arvind Kerjiwal.

Arvind Kejriwal, Photo Courtsey Rajeev Bhatt.

The situation here in Madhya Pradesh is still unclear. We have not witnessed any sporadic, locally arranged and meticulously managed agitation in or around Bhopal. The State has witnessed unpredicted losses from untimely hailstorms and rains destroying most of the  cash crop and lowering the quality of wheat.

Farmers have been struggling with low prices, untimely sale of their produce and apathy from the local Agricultural Markets. This has been complicated with strict recovery rules of the local Banks who are waiting for the circulars from the State Government to put off the Cycle of recovery for some months.

Billing by the electricity companies in M.P. has so much to be corrected in the City and village level where the average billing has neither stopped nor new Billing for the new electricity Meters started in the areas where they are starting the 24X7 supply or no power cut zones. The consumers are facing the problems of excessive Billing, standing in the long queues in unhygienic conditions to deposit the Bills and facing un -scheduled power cuts for last few months.

The conditions of the welfare schemes are now being limited to regular announcements by the Chief Minister, which are hardly ever followed up by the local bureaucracy.

Compounded by steep rise in inflation, bad roads, poor infrastructures for Industries and no scope for self employment opportunities for the local youth these are some of the conditions favourable for AAP in Madhya Pradesh.

One incident which has adversely affected the RTI Movement and thus both Anna Movement and then the vigour of AAP in M.P. is the gruesome murder of Shehla Masood, an RTI Activist from Bhopal who was steering the Anna movement. CBI is probing this murder-mystery and the whole theory is revolving around the personal life , likes and dislikes , friends and foes and families of the friends of Late Shehla Masood. The political leader- criminal relationship is still not looked into and the questioning of the leaders of the political-party is limited to “courtesy calls”. The one family targeted after this murder is still facing the usual Court room and media- trials ,with no logical ends in the near future.
This incident has spread  a degree of fear among the RTI workers and activists of the State that the -power- be in the State are strong enough to limit the scope of the usage on information gathered under RTI Act. The local Political environment is not supportive to agitate the minds of the youths to come out to protest in the cases of corruptions in Madhya Pradesh. Moreover, we have seen that the issues of corruptions at higher places have been high jacked by the Political Parties, leaving a very small space for AAP to work on this.

It now depends on the local leadership to chalk out the strategy which may focus on issues of “silencing of the RTI Activist”, corruption in the bureaucracy and the reasons for this and make the spread of AAP reach the doorsteps of the common man. The Team at the district level is yet to make active efforts to constitute Mohalla, Village/ward level committees who shall remain close to the common p[people and identify the issues troubling them. They will have to enroll a very large numbers of youth who want to bring some change in the society. Train them and support them with a Team of Legal experts. Design and publish IEC Information on the local issues and in local languages.

The time is running out for AAP in M.P. They have to start early and swiftly then only there may be some notable impact on the overall Political environment in Madhya Pradesh.

Tag     arvind kejriwal,  shahla masood, aam admi party, AAP,