The Aam Aadmi Party’s dramatic collapse after an audacious debut just a decade ago is a perfect illustration of the old adage that “not all fairy tales have happy endings".

It was not so much its defeat that came as a surprise given that anti-incumbency eventually strikes all parties, however successful. What shocked many was the manner of the AAP’s collapse. Who would have imagined that its seemingly impregnable citadel would come crashing down like a house of cards burying most of its top leadership, including the big boss, under the rubble.

The fact that Arvind Kejriwal himself was rejected by his New Delhi constituents illustrates the depth of public angst.

In the end, even all those generous freebies (cash transfers, free bus rides) and promises of more to come if it was voted back to power couldn’t save the party as voters saw through the trick: mouth-watering as the freebies were they were essentially a distraction from real issues.

Many beneficiaries of freebies said these were no substitute for a solution to the problems of unemployment, pot-holed roads, bad air, dirty water, rising crime and crumbling infrastructure.

Safety remains a key issue, especially for most women. They say that short-term freebies are not an answer to ensuring security.

It’s a clear indictment of the party’s failure to grasp the public mood—and a policy that sought to substitute freebies (dressed up as social welfare) for hard policies to tackle bread-and-butter issues.

However much Kejriwal might like to blame the party’s rout on anti-incumbency........

© News18