——S. A. Hemanth——
Bengaluru, March 1: It looks like that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has departed before its arrival in Karnataka. It is going to be a case of “started with a bang and ending in a whimper” phenomenon for this highly ambitious party.
The exit of Bhaskar Rao, former Bangalore City Police Commissioner, from AAP is the proverbial last straw on the camel’s back. With Bhaskar Rao’s exit, it looks like that no big names are going to in AAP list. The series of scams and controversies in which AAP finds it-self in at the national level has dented its image as a clean and neat party.
Bhaskar took voluntary retirement from the IPS and joined the AAP with much fanfare. It looked like that the AAP is all set to take off as many more would make a beeline following the former Police Commissioner. The confidence with which the local AAP leaders claimed of becoming a major force in Karnataka politics was quite intriguing.
But when the AAP lost the Gujarat assembly elections very badly and the Delhi-based leaders were accused of corruption and nepotism, the downward slide of this radical-thinking party commenced.
AAP leaders made the mistake of over-estimating themselves after their victory first in the Delhi State Assembly elections and later in the Municipal Corporation, Delhi polls. The victory of the AAP was due to the “mercurial and radical” behaviour of the people due to local compulsions. That the BJP will continue to have its sway in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections is a matter of fact.
In Karnataka, the AAP does not have any towering and credible personalities to lead the party. Such leaders could have swayed several other leaders who are disillusioned with the Congress, BJP and JDS. In fact, AAP had a wonderful opportunity to slowly but surely emerge as an alternative to all the three parties, albeit in a small way. But no big names were found in AAP list, at least till now.
However, with factors beyond their control – read corruption charges and arrest of Delhi Deputy Chief Minister in liquor scam – the AAP in Karnataka is in a quandary. The exit of Bhaskar Rao had dealt a body blow. It looks like that the AAP in Karnataka has departed before its arrival.
EOM
#BHASKAR RAO #RITIERED POLICE OFFICER #JOIN BJP #BJP #AAP #AAM ADMI PARTY
