New Delhi: Free water, electricity, education, healthcare… (and also money) promised to the aam aadmi of Delhi. As election season heats up (along with the day temperatures), ‘revdis’ have made a resounding comeback in the Capital. The promises (nee guarantees) are becoming more promising, more aggressive, and may we add, more unrealistic as the days progress. Leading from the front this time is a party that had become the default choice for Delhi and its citizens since 2013. The Aam Aadmi Party, that made its electoral debut in the 2013 Delhi Legislative Assembly election, has cemented its status in the Capital, or, so they feel. The party’s manifesto clearly reflect this over-confidence where the AAP feels more the freebies, more is the chance for the party to be back in the saddle. But is this the case?

Before we dive deeper into the AAP manifesto and their umpteen free guarantees, and also look at why this may prove to be problematic for them in the long run, here’s a look at how the party has performed in the area. Their debut year was perhaps the golden period for the party rising high on the anti-corruption wave. As was predicted by pollsters, AAP emerged as the second-largest party and managed to form the government with support from Congress in 2013, Arvind Kejriwal was the undisputed choice for chief ministership. Although this was a short-lived romance, his government had to resign in just 49 days after he could not pass the Jan Lokpal Bill in the assembly, the fortunes of AAP were to change very soon.

In the following 2015 elections, the AAP won 67 of the 70 seats in the assembly and Kejriwal was again sworn in as the Chief Minister; in the 2020 Delhi Legislative Assembly election, AAP was re-elected as the governing party after winning 62 seats out of 70. The balance is surely tilted in its favour but how many will AAP win in their current form, is a raging debate in political circles. It’s pertinent to note that the party is heading into the elections without a CM face — a big disadvantage for a party that has only been riding the Kejri-wave.

Given that the party........

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