AAP aur Hum

I must say that the more I hear Arvind Kejriwal, the more impressed I get. He comes across as a simple man with big ideas and big dreams. He seems passionate and he does seem to care about the nation's interests. However, I am still not convinced to vote for AAP. Following are some of my key apprehensions;

1. Apart from Kejriwal, I do not know most people in AAP. That is understandable as they are first-timers and 'yet to make any news'. However, a lot of them come across as pretty naive with the Panchtantra type ideas
2. The promises of AAP seem unrealistic. I do not think that they can give 700 liters of free water, electricity at reduced rates etc. without causing severe impact on the treasury
3. A convicted maoist leader is part of the core team
4. One of the founding members, Prashant Bhushan opines that Kashmir issue should be decided based on the people's opinion. Which people are we talking about over here? What about the thousands of Kashmiri Pandits that were forced to flee from the state? In their absence, won't the opinion be biased? What about the soldiers who have died protecting the borders? All that does not matter, isn't it Mr. Bhushan?
5. Then there are some larger issues. I do not think that AAP has the people and resources to win at the national level, at least at this stage. In Delhi, they fielded candidates on every seat (70). They cannot have similar strategy at the national level as that would mean fielding around 550 candidates!!! That is just impossible and no party is able to do that. Moreover, the amount of resources they would need to campaign at the national level is unimaginable. Lastly, another resource that they are short of is 'time'. There is simply no time left before the general elections. So, if they cannot contest a 'serious election' at the national level this time around, they will only cause harm to the chances of BJP and Narendra Modi. They may just divide the seats and in turn, help Congress or a third-front. A lot of people may have reservations against BJP and Modi but they need to ask themselves if they are okay with another term of Congress? Or will they be okay if Mulayam Singh Yadav or Mayawati or Mamta Banerjee becomes the PM? If the answer is yes, they need mental treatment. Period. More than anyone becoming the PM, I do not want Congress or a joker from a third-front to become the PM. I want them to be ruled-out first. And, I honestly believe that, for that to happen, BJP is the safest bet. They have a national presence and they have alliances. They can give a strong fight to Congress at the national level. It may sound like a short-term strategy but, no matter how good they are, voting for AAP in the general election is not a good solution. As it would only help Congress. The country cannot sustain another term of Congress. And even if BJP manages to come into power, it needs two things to be able to make an impact. (A) strength in parliament and for that they would need as many MPs as possible and (B) the governance style of Narendra Modi. If BJP does not manage a clear majority (and there is a high possibility of that), they would be toothless and they would not have Narendra Modi at the helm, even if they manage to form a government with support from other parties. So, it needs to be approached like a game of chess. You have to lose some pawns to be able to make a serious attack. If you feel that AAP would be able to form a government at the national level in 2014, vote for them in the next general elections. But if you do not think that is possible, vote for the 'next best' alternative. In my case, I do not believe in AAP as yet and I have more faith in Narendra Modi (not BJP) and some of the other leaders in BJP (Swamy, Swaraj, Jaitley). So I am clear about my choice
6. Dhoni is a great cricket captain and leader. He arrived on the international scene with a bang scoring a magnificent 148 against Pakistan. He soon followed it up with a 183 against Srilanka. Did he become the captain immediately? No!!! Virat Kohli is a great batsman and is making a huge impact especially in limited overs cricket. He first became a news when he led the Under-19 side to a world cup victory in Kuala Lumpur. Was he selected immediately in the national side and made a captain? No. Before you start thinking that I have mixed up two blog posts, the point that I am trying to make is AAP may have had a strong debut. And they may be showing a lot of potential. But does that mean that we should make them the captain straightaway? I do not agree. Let them prove their mettle and show their class first. I would be happy to make a more informed decision at a later stage!!!