The vote for the Aam Aadmi Party in New Delhi was a vote for alternative politics and policies, social activist Aruna Roy said here on Monday.
The creditable performance by the party proves that it is possible to collect money from the people, run a party, be transparent and principled at the same time. It had disproved what the political parties had been saying about funding of elections.
Ms. Roy, who was here to participate in a function organised by Vidya Vanam, a school for tribal children, said the AAP by involving the youth in electioneering shattered old assumptions – notions that there was votebank politics and that people voted along caste lines.
Now the AAP should start looking at governance and tell people what it intended to do.
Whether it forms government or sits in opposition, it should come out with a common minimum programme, which it should communicate to people. For, governance meant different things to different people. For some, infrastructure development alone meant governance, and for others it was over eight per cent growth.
To make its stand clear, the party would do well to come out with a common minimum programme.
The AAP should also make clear its stand on secularism, she said.
For the 2014 general elections, alongside the basic issue of governance, corruption and arbitrary use of power would remain core issues.
If not, the National Campaign for People’s Right to Information would ensure that they remained the main issues. She refused to comment on parties or election promises, as no specifics were available.
With the support of Left parties, the United Progressive Alliance government in 2004-09 performed better on social issues. The UPA II did not perform as well, she said.
