#Delhi - A Patient on Death bed

Delhi has been a city of Inspiration and Legends from centuries. Apart from being the seat of power of a vast country like India it has also been a birthplace of new philosophies and ideas. Many of the ideas that emerged in Delhi have united this Nation, few others have ruined us. But in this election season it's much more than just a battle of ideas and ideologies. It's more of a battle between those who have proved themselves and those who haven't. And among all the battle chaos, I write this piece because I see a certain section of Delhiites not realizing the importance of proven abilities in political arena.

Past 15 years of Congress rule has brought Delhi to such a pathetic state that the anger of the residents against the Government has forced the Chief Minister to cancel her visit to several areas within the City. This is shameful for any state / country and shows the plight of its citizens. All these years of Congress rule have seen a sharp rise in crimes in Delhi and the recent events, that shook the Nation as a whole, display the reason why Delhi is often termed as one of the most unsafe cities in the Country.  

The most unfortunate part for Delhi has been the fact that rather than accepting lapses and ill-governance the Delhi CM insensitively passes the buck to the Centre every time any horrific incident takes place in the city. Even the Corruption charges on Delhi CM involving millions of taxpayer's money come under the purview of passing-the-buck approach to Governance. Police inaction, corruption in institutions, power and water issues are some of the many issues that have made Delhi desperate for Good governance. No doubts that its majority has decided that Congress has ruined the chances it was given by Delhiites to prove its ability of delivering Good Governance. 

Having said that let us see what other options Delhi has to rely on for Good-Governance. Let us start with the new entrant - AAP. This is a party born out of strong protests carried out in capital in the year 2011 against corruption. Lead by Anna Hazare these protests saw huge turn outs and great enthusiasm for their cause. Though the Gandhian activist Anna Hazare is not with AAP but most of the founding members of it were the organizers of the former protests. Their leader being Mr. Arvind Kejriwal.

I have a lot of respect for the bold initiative that this new party has taken. But when I look at AAP with hopes of finding solution to my problems, I feel disappointed. Firstly, AAP promises a "change" in Delhi's governance but has only one single point agenda of Anti-Corruption to do so. The extent of relating everything to its single point agenda is so unrealistic sometimes that it makes you wonder about the connect between reality and vision of AAP. Recently Mr. Kejriwal justified his vision by saying that if Lokpal would have been enforced in Delhi then the Onion prices would not have soared to Rs. 100/Kg. Any clues how can one arrive at such conclusion?

Secondly, if AAP really wants to bring "change" in the political system right from the roots to the top and have a clear vision for it that can be practically transformed into a good governance model then I wonder why didn't they start their career from Panchayat OR Muncipality level elections? They could have started from the roots, cleansed the system with their anti-corruption agenda and come up to the Delhi assembly voters with proven track record. 

Straight away plunging into assembly elections and offering "change" that has serious doubts on its feasibility only shows their hunger for power. I see no difference in AAP's visions and Rahul Gandhi's rhetorical speeches since both are unproven and will make a Guinea pig out of my vote and constituency.

Second contender is BJP. They have recently shown a United front by declaring Mr. Harshavardhan as their CM candidate. He is a proven good administrator (as highly successfull Health Minister in NDA regime) and a clean political personality among the stalwarts fighting in Delhi elections. Moreover, BJP as a unit has a lot of experience in Good Governance in state and Centre level. 

All the BJP governments have proven track records in states like Gujarat, M.P., Chattisgarh, Goa. Moreover, many of its Delhi unit leaders have vast experience as Ministers in NDA Governemnt which is by far the best Central Government we have seen. Besides, Much has been said and analysed about the performance of BJP led state governments and we have a proven model of Good Governance with them. 

It wont be wrong if I say that the ill-treatment of Delhi by its Government has made it look like a patient fighting for life on its death bed. And assembly elections are an exercise to choose who is the best Doctor to cure this dying sufferer.

If Delhiites don't want their suffering city to be given as a Guinea pig for clinical (read political / administrative) trials in the hands of inexperienced Doctors (AAP), they should, at least this time, choose an experienced contender with Good track record (BJP) to make their city stand from the death bed, be cured and walk in next five years. 

Within that span of time let us see how our inexperienced Doctor performs in curing the system from its roots (panchayats / municpalities) and lets decide about him in next turn.

Thanks!!

Prateek

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