When Mr. Arvind Kejriwal announced the formation of his Aam Admi Party (AAP) I criticized his decision for being premature. My reasoning was that to create a genuine national alternative and not merely a new party additional to the fifty plus already existing there was need first to have a nationwide movement to propagate an agenda and recruit adherents for creating an organizational structure. But Mr. Kejriwal formed and plunged his new party into the forthcoming Delhi assembly elections. How is his party performing up till now?

The AAP is focusing exclusively on local subjects. It is very active in highlighting the problems that beset common citizens in their daily lives. And this is being done when public disenchantment with the corruption and non-performance of both the Congress and the BJP has never been more acute. As a result not only has the new party started to draw supporters from among the sections that are heard least but vote most, an increasing number of the young are joining the party as activists and members. In fact some analysts are projecting the possibility of AAP defeating both the main parties to emerge as victor in the assembly polls.

Some analysts have criticized Mr. Kejriwal for not announcing a new national policy related to the large issues of foreign policy and economic policy. Instead he has focused primarily on petty corruption of the kind that bothers the common citizen and on subjects strictly local. Indeed he has announced his intention of presenting 71 election manifestoes – one each for every assembly constituency – to be collated into a single state level manifesto subsequently. If he does this, never mind critics, it will be a unique exercise undertaken by no other party. If he also succeeds in attracting suitable new candidates for all constituencies his chances of victory will soar. By all reports he might succeed in achieving this.

If that happens and Mr. Kejriwal’s party defeats the Congress and the BJP to wrest the government in Delhi State, I must concede that by his decision to launch his party he was right and I was wrong. If the AAP does win the Delhi assembly its potential for nationwide success will be enormous. Delhi is min-India. It is the stage with national spotlight on it. If elections are held as scheduled, the AAP will get a clear five months to prepare for parliamentary elections. That will be the time to propagate a national agenda with as much meticulous care as is being done for the local issues pertaining to assembly elections. And if new candidates are selected for all the parliamentary constituencies the prospects of success will multiply. There is a new young generation of voters. The whole country is sick and tired of the existing political parties and their culture. People desperately want change. And change is what AAP could promise if its plans succeed.

There is considerable speculation about the next Prime Minister. Many names are being bandied about. According to media pundits and opinion pollsters the front runner is Mr. Narendra Modi. He has many perceived challengers. There is talk of Mr. Rahul Gandhi, Mr. LK Advani, Mr. Nitish Kumar, Mrs. Sushma Swaraj, Mr. Arun Jaitley and others. But if the occasion arises the main challenge to Mr. Modi might well come from the prime ministerial candidate of the AAP. Mr. Modi has caught the imagination of people because he promises a changed approach to governance. People do want change. But however much Mr. Modi may change he is saddled as of now with the baggage of all existing politicians. If the AAP succeeds in the polls it could offer not only a new leader but a whole new class of politicians to govern the nation. That is the kind of change people want. So could the AAP emerge as the proverbial dark horse?