AAP support base shifts from middle class to underprevileged

NEW DELHI: Karan Sinha, an IT pro, was at Jantar Mantar on August 3, 2012, when it all happened. "Thousands of supporters of the anti-corruption movement woke up to the reality that they were now a political party," said the 45 year old sitting in his twobedroom rented apartment in Delhi's posh Greater Kailash. "I, for one, was in favour of the decision."

Life came a full circle for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) exactly two years later when it went back to its birthplace this month to mobilise public opinion about fresh elections in the Capital. Sinha chose to skip the event. "I do not relate to their political rhetoric anymore," he added.

AAP's rally on August 3 was a success with thousands pouring in at Jantar Mantar to endorse the party. But Sinha's absence was representative of a significant change in its supporter base. The rainbow coalition that brought the AAP to power in Delhi had more or less consolidated into one colour -- the downtrodden.

"The largest chunk of our supporters now come from the underprivileged class. A public meeting held near a JJ colony inevitably elicits a good response these days. But I am yet to see similar enthusiasm about AAP among the educated middleclass and the elite," a party MLA of an urban constituency told ET on the condition of anonymity.

So while on one hand, the shift in the social profile of supporters has created strong opportunities for AAP to win rural seats such as Sultanpur — which it lost by just 1,100 votes in the assembly election — in case of a reelection, it has, on the other, left many party MLAs representing urban seats feeling nervous.

The early sign of this disillusionment surfaced with AAP MLA Somnath Bharti's midnight raid in Khirki extension against a 'prostitution racket' and the spectacle of the then CM Arvind Kejriwal sitting on a dharna against the Centre. The decision to resign from government did not sit well with the middle class. "They couldn't make the transition from agitation to governance. I was quite angry when they took the obstinate stand of not sending the Jan Lokpal bill to the L-G first and quit power," said Sinha.

During the LS elections, AAP lost all of the 14 urban seats it had won during the assembly elections. The party leadership has an interesting take on the middle class' indifference. "The middle class believes it has ushered in the change it was striving for by electing Modi. But there have been no difference in corruption levels. No one knows this better than the underprivileged who continue to bribe government officers and the police. The rich and professionals do not have to face such problems on a daily basis," said a member of AAP's advisory committee.

So are they now changing their political rhetoric to echo the sentiments of the poor more than others? AAP's opposition to the ban on e-rickshaws and its support for the anti-CSAT agitation by students could be viewed as an attempt in this direction, although the party leadership vehemently denies resorting to appeasement.

"Right now AAP is focusing on elections which is why you see the party echoing sentiments of the poor because that is where most of the problems are and that's where most of the votes are. But AAP needs to decide whether it wants to grow only electorally or also politically. If it wants to be a different party then it needs a different set of issues and constituencies. Else, it will not be too different from the Congress and BJP," said political commentator Shiv Vishwanathan. more