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Journalism of Courage
AT A press conference Sunday, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal said that an average Delhi resident saves Rs 25,000 every month because his government gives them free electricity, water and bus rides for women, among other schemes.
He then asked a question he has rarely asked before, “Leave alone the poor, can a middle-class family afford to spend Rs 25,000 per month on these services?”
On Tuesday, at another press conference, questioning loan waivers for industrialists, Kejriwal said, “A person who earns Rs 1 lakh per month ends up spending Rs 60,000 to Rs 70,000 on EMIs. He has bought a house, a car. Why can you not waive their loans?”
While the AAP’s campaign in October started with a reiteration that it would give Rs 1,000 to non-tax paying women if it came back to power, an amount which was later increased to Rs 2,100, the past week has seen an inclusion of issues that impacts the middle class in Kejriwal’s speeches as well as the party manifesto.
Party sources say that the shift is a result of reports from the ground that the middle-class voters are disillusioned with the AAP government, talking of “the lack of work” in their gated colonies and on maintaining roads.
“There are several constituencies where we changed the sitting MLA because of anti-incumbency. That was the first step. But the fact that we could not improve roads or ensure better garbage management… in gated colonies and middle- and upper middle-class areas, the poor condition of the roads has emerged as a significant issue,” a senior leader said, while blaming this on “the adverse attitude of the Centre and the Lieutenant Governor”.
So the AAP is now tweaking its campaign and seeking to draw a line between its schemes and the middle class. For example, the leader said: “People think of it as a promise for the poor, but the Sanjeevani scheme (under which voters over the age of 60 can get free treatment at private hospitals) is actually geared more towards the middle-class voter. The poor residents of the city already know that they can get free treatment at our government hospitals and mohalla clinics, and they also find them accessible. It is the middle-class and upper middle-class voter who avoids going to a government hospital unless it is AIIMS. Our campaign in these areas actually starts with talking about the proposed Sanjeevani scheme.”
Another AAP leader said: “The message that in the winter months, even upper middle-class households, especially nuclear families, get zero power and water bills is something that has been added to the campaign. Kejriwal has put a number to it too: Rs 25,000.”
On the anxiety among the AAP about the middle-class vote, a leader who is managing the party campaign said: “The three biggest issues are that some MLAs were unpopular. They either did not get work done, or were not accessible. The second is issues such as poor roads, cleanliness and overflowing sewers. These are usually associated with unauthorised colonies but over the past two years have become a pan-Delhi problem. The third is the thought that since the Centre is not going to let an AAP government work, it is better to give the BJP a chance.”
So, “European-standard roads” and “new sewer lines for old colonies” have found mention in the party’s 15-point manifesto, or ‘guarantee card’.
While it emerged from an anti-corruption plank, the AAP has come to be seen as a party for the poor. Its schemes such as free electricity up to 200 units of consumption and free 20 kilo litres of water per month, plus free bus rides for women (though applicable to all) have proved game changers in the Capital. So much so that the BJP has been at pains to emphasise this time that it would not roll back any existing scheme if voted to power, and actually “enhance” them, by increasing payouts to women to Rs 2,500 a month and bringing in Ayushman Bharat.
After it formed its second full-majority government in 2020, the AAP did try to focus on road redevelopment and cleanliness. But it ran into a wall amid a high-pitched tussle with Lt Governor V K Saxena and a municipal corporation governed by it that was rendered ineffective for a long time.
One reason for the AAP’s confidence that it can stem slide among middle-class voters is the Lokniti surveys on the party’s performance showing a rise in its support among the middle class between the 2015 and 2020 Assembly elections, of 2 percentage points.
