Arvind Kejriwal's new party

This was launched on 2nd of this month which happens to the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, the founding father of independent India. The party was launched with very little fanfare and principally aims at contesting elections with honest candidates and aims at clean and efficient governance. India against corruption had many active and silent followers and all of them with two notable exceptions are in this new, yet to be named party. These notable exceptions are the prime mover Anna Hazare and the other is Madam Kiran Bedi.

Anna feels any form of political party is no good and agitation approach is the best and Ms Bedi feels that it is better to support BJP than floating another party. Most feel BJP is also in its own way corrupt and not much can be gained by supporting it.

Building any political party from the grass roots is not easy given the vitiated atmosphere in the country. Sympathy need not necessarily convert into votes. This brings back memories of Swatantra Party floated by Late Rajagopalachary who was fed up with woolly headed, and what he thought with good reasons, self destructive policies of Jawaharlal Nehru. This party did get some support but failed in the electoral politics and died a natural death. When the party was floated, I remember the optimism that some of us felt.

I feel the same optimism with Kejriwal and his group and I wish them all success.