AAP can save politics from politicians- ET

Lateral entry is the only way to shake up any organization. In any ageing enterprise, in the corporate or government sector, only an outsider will find old wasteful ways of governance odd and ask obvious questions of accountability. So, the antidote for the sloth, sleaze and sickening sycophancy of politics can only come from outside the present cesspool. The earlier the established parties understand this, the better for the polity.

The Aam Aadmi Party experiment is all about lateral entry of new social entrepreneurs and their attempt to change the rules of the political game. But the ruling Congress and the Opposition BJP do not seem to have picked up any tips from the AAP's success in Delhi and the steady stream of aspirants into the party.

Sure, there is one odd cricketer here and an editor there in the Congress and the BJP list of candidates. But the two big parties still have not opened their flood gates to the surge of professionals waiting to join politics. Even among professionals, journalists outnumber any other single category in the number of candidates announced so far by the AAP. In fact, almost every journalist now seems to want to contest the elections.

The added advantage of AAP is that it means many things to many people and is perceived as ideology-neutral. Thus, it has become an easy and accessible platform for journalists who have been helping Arvind Kejriwal and his group of RTI activists in the journey towards their political matamorphosis.

A youngster gets into BJP as a party worker or through RSS shakhas (unlike other parties, the student's organisation Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parisadh is an RSS affiliate and not a BJP one). The Congress claims that it invites fresh blood through its National Students Union of India (NSUI) and Youth Congress. But even the most passionate and committed youngster who throng the RSS shakhas, ABVP gatherings or the NSUI unions, would have become complete clones of their leaders by the time they they reach positions of leadership and power.

The reason is simple: they don't get a salary. How do they drive expensive cars, pay drivers and hangers-on, build houses, fly around the country or simply survive without any regular income? The Communist parties do give an allowance to its workers, but the monthly pittance is not even enough to pay for the smartphones the cadres carry. So, where does the money come from? Obviously, from people who want to jump queues, cut corners and and bend rules while doing business with the government.

So, there is a bit of a Raja in every politician who takes the slimy route up the gravy train. The AAP is essentially an escalator to power, a clean, modern, transparent and efficient alternative to the old feudal system of vassals getting promoted for their loyalty. In fact, the process is worse when it comes to Muslim politics, with its vote contractors who assure votes in lieu of a Parliament seat or a cabinet berth: a contractor's fee.

The AAP as a party is not important, but its experiment is worth getting institutionalized. The talent hunt should not end only in newsrooms. Let there be more doctors, engineers, accountants, scientists and bureaucrats in the fray. more