Last weekâs Delhi assembly election results seem to have âsurprisedâ the established national political parties. AAP is a new political party barely one year old, and has captured 40% of the seats in Delhi assembly. Its roots are in the anti-corruption movement led by Anna Hazare about 30 months ago. Most of its key leaders have been civil society activists, promoters and champions of grassroots democracy, and active supporters of the post-emergency phenomenon of ânon-party political formationâ.
The phenomenal success of this new political party in Delhi raises interesting questions about the conversion of a social movement into a formal political party engaging in âstate-craftâ. The roots of AAP are in the massive mobilisation under the anti-corruption platform âIndia Against Corruptionâ. As a formal political party involved in formal institutions of governance, would AAP be able to manifest the agenda, priorities and perspectives of the social movement, its incubator?
There is a long history of social movements graduating into political parties in several countries around the world. Not all of these transitions have yielded positive governance outcomes. One of the very early social movements of the early twentieth century was the workersâ movement. The Communist Party in Russia, and elsewhere, grew out of that social movement. Have the Communist Parties of those countries, as a part of ruling regimes and governments, advanced the welfare of workers around the world? Have they advanced the interests of all citizens, especially the un-organised workers in the agricultural and other informal sectors of economy?
In the twentieth century, womenâs movements and peace movements had a strong voice and mobilisation world-wide. Several of these social movements began to influence the policies and agendas of formal political parties in those countries. Some converted themselves into political parties and contested elections as well. Womenâs Party in New Zealand and Peace Party in Finland are possible examples of this phenomenon. The emergence of Green Parties in the past few decades has also been catalysed by strong environmental movements in several countries of Europe.
In many countries, social movements against authoritarianism, colonialism and apartheid became political parties in their countries after the overthrow of such dictatorial regimes. From Philippines to Chile to Nicaragua and South Africa, such examples of political parties in the past three decades have shown uneven governance outcomes for ordinary citizens. Recent citizen movements in these countries, especially of and by the more educated urban youth, are reminders of the challenges of democratic governance as leaders of social movements become rulers in the governments of these countries.
In India, there are some interesting examples of social movements becoming transformed into political parties in recent decades. Jay Prakash Narainâs âtotal revolutionâ movement in the 1970s mobilised students and youth in large numbers to demand a wide range of governance reforms. When Janata Party was formed on the back of this movement after the political emergency was lifted in 1977, the new party won thumping majority in national parliament. The partyâs record of governance in its short span of 30 months did not augur well for the ordinary citizens of the country, nor enthused the members and leaders of that movement. In 1980s, the student movement in Assam converted itself to a political party and won assembly elections hands down. However, its record of governance had not been very impressive to citizens of Assam, as evidenced by absence of much political support to it since then.
In the past five years, several countries of Europe have seen emergence of new political parties on the foundations of citizensâ protests in declining economies. Such parties have emerged in Germany, Italy and Spain. They are supported by young people and mobilise their constituency âonlineâ. Some of them have become part of ruling regimes as well. It is too early to assess their performance from a governance lens; yet, citizensâ mobilisation around unemployment, declining incomes and growing inequalities (occupy and 99% movements, for example) continue in those societies.
So, the challenge of governance facing AAP political party and its foundations in anti-corruption social movements at the end of the first decade of the twenty-first century do not have any ready answers from history. Governance by AAP can serve the interests of ordinary Indian citizens; it may also not serve those interests in the long haul. What is clear is that social movements are a necessary part of governance and its reforms from the lens of ordinary citizens. Social movements need to maintain their identities independent of political parties involved in âstate-craftâ. By engaging with formal political party system, independent social movements can make a significant impact towards democratic governance. India needs AAP political party (and others) and many social movements ( around a host of issues like anti-corruption, gay rights, womenâs safety, etc.)?
Rajesh Tandon
December 17, 2013
