No one, in other words, sets out to make a case for more<\/i> corruption.\u00a0 Indeed, everyone (claims to) want to see less<\/i> corruption.\u00a0 The question is subsequently of how to go about achieving that, and not whether the aim itself is one worth achieving.<\/p>\n
The \u2018valence\u2019 nature of corruption as an issue has not stopped the Aam Aadmi Party (literally, the \u2018Party of the Common Man\u2019) from causing quite a stir over the past few weeks in India.\u00a0 Led by the articulate and approachable Arvind Kejriwal, the AAP caused a storm in a regional election in Delhi in December, gaining 28 seats and a plurality of the vote<\/a>.\u00a0 The party\u2019s platform?\u00a0 To tackle corruption.\u00a0 Nothing more, nothing less.\u00a0 After initially refusing to enter government (on account of needing another party to ensure a parliamentary majority), the AAP quickly had a change of heart and took on the challenge.\u00a0 Delhi, and India, subsequently entered an interesting new chapter in its party political development.<\/p>\n It didn\u2019t take long, however, before the AAP\u2019s opponents were hurling abuse at the new upstart \u2013 Salman Khursid from the AAP\u2019s main rival, the Congress Party, called Kejriwal an \u201canarchist with Jurassic ideas<\/a>\u201d whilst AAP party members were some of the \u201cworst, stinking third grade people\u201d in all of India.\u00a0 Even AAP members have begun to join in with the criticisms, senior party figure Vinod Binny claiming that parts of the party manifesto \u201cconned the people of Delhi<\/a>\u201d.\u00a0 With friends like these \u2026<\/p>\n The AAP\u2019s recent success in the Indian capital certainly makes for interesting viewing.\u00a0 Many of the AAP\u2019s policies have a decidedly populist feel to them; giving each and every citizen of Delhi 700 litres of free water, for example, and promising to cut electricity bills by up to 50 per cent.\u00a0 Much will depend on whether Kejriwal and his colleagues can quickly learn how to govern, and where and with whom they can and can\u2019t make compromises.\u00a0 History would tell us that the AAP will ultimately succumb to the long-standing dynasties in Congress and the BJP, but Kejriwal has already done much better than many single issue anti-corruption activists before him.\u00a0 With a general election planned for the middle of 2014, Indian politics will certainly be worth keeping a close eye on.<\/p>\n Professor Dan Hough. Director of the Sussex Centre for the Study of Corruption.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" No one, in other words, sets out to make a case for more corruption.\u00a0 Indeed, everyone (claims to) want to see less corruption.\u00a0 The question is subsequently of how to go about achieving that, and not whether the aim itself…<\/span><\/p>\n