Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) state president Prithvi Reddy says if people in Karnataka vote based on issues or works, the party will sweep the polls. “BJP is scared of us and trying to put pressure on our candidates to withdraw. They are desperately trying to disturb our organisation across the state,” he said, during an interaction with the TNSE editors and reporters. Excerpts.
How is AAP looking at the Karnataka elections?
It is an interesting election. Most political analysts are not looking at the mood of the people. There is one survey that says 46% of Karnataka voters do not want to vote for Congress or BJP or JDS, which means there is an opportunity. They want a change. This does not mean they will vote for AAP. The AAP is looking at the vote bank which other parties or people are not looking at as other parties are looking at traditional ways. We have seen, out of experience in Delhi. In our first election, they said we will get zero seats, we got 28. In the next election, though we had scored 28 seats earlier, the report predicted we will get 5 to 8, but we got 62 seats out of 70. I believe when there is a new kid on the block, it is hard to predict. Our responsibility is to run a good campaign and offer good candidates. We have done that, announced our lists and we are way ahead of other political parties. All three parties here are talking about schools, and hospitals and trying to emulate AAP’s work. For instance, ‘Mohalla Clinic’ is emulated by BJP as ‘Namma Clinic’ here. They are talking about constructing 24,000 classrooms which are again based on the AAP Delhi government model. Congress is talking about 200 units of power, Rs 2,000 for women … which is copying AAP. We are the only people who have done it. Political success should not be measured in terms of winning seats. It’s about how you are able to change the narrative. Even before the polls, we consider when it comes to change in narrative, we have been successful.
Narratives are fine, what about seats? How many seats AAP is looking for?
As a political party, our responsibility is to give an honest option. We have three parties in Karnataka that are substitutes, as their politics remains the same. The first time when you offer new ideas in a state, it’s extremely hard to predict how people will vote. I believe if people in Karnataka vote based on issues or works, AAP will sweep these polls. We have access to a 46 per cent vote share. But the discussion is based on castes and religion. It is sad that at the last moment, BJP got the reservation and voters are confused today because BJP pulled out the reservation matter. We are confident that voters will vote based on issues.
AAP had fielded good candidates earlier. What went wrong?
We were selling an idea. For many people, it was like a dream. Who would have thought there would be swimming pools in government schools? Who would think from a tablet to heart surgery, it would be available free of cost? People believed less then. Even in 2018, when we fought here, the results of Delhi schools, which we had built, were yet to come out. In Delhi, 99.7 per cent of children in government schools passed, and the results were better than private schools. We had Mohalla schools, specialty hospitals and we had a working model. Delhi was like a lab experiment with proof of concepts. What happened in Punjab last year showed that it has the potential to grow outside Delhi and people would start believing. In Karnataka, we have won the mind space and heart space. If this converts into votes, I think we will have shocking results. BJP is scared of us and is trying to put pressure on our candidates to withdraw. They are desperately trying to disturb our organisation across the state.
Many leaders quit AAP. What do you have to say about it?
For every person who quit, many people joined us. Our politics is more about principles than personalities. Kodihalli Chandrashekar was a farmer leader and our intention is not Kodihalli, but farmers. We want to give farmers the power of decision-making, and not fight for their crop price. We have 16 farmers in our list of 140 candidates. How can farmers’ voices not be heard? If someone did wrong, we will not accept it. As far as Bhaskar Rao is concerned, I still cannot understand why a person who sat next to me and spoke against BJP’s corruption, can join BJP. For that, only he can answer. The party has grown manifold.
Who is your CM face in Karnataka?
We believe that all 224 candidates are potential CM candidates. We do not decide who the CM candidate is, we allow people to grow.
What are the challenges you are facing in building the party at the grassroots in Karnataka?
By nature, we Kannadigas are very accepting. Despite allegations of corruption against the government, people did not hit the streets. I think it takes a little longer while hoping that people have reached the breaking point. This election could be a turning point. But convincing the people is hard while arranging resources, money and people is challenging.
There are allegations that AAP is getting funds from extremist organisations …
Such allegations are made when parties get thrashed in elections and have nothing to compete on. We are the richest government but the poorest political party. If they have any proof, they can get it probed as they have all the investigation agencies with them. The matter of national security is not a matter of compromise. If anyone is doing anything against the interest of the country, they should be locked up.
What’s your take on Hindi imposition?
Absolutely unacceptable. Nationally we believe our greatest strength is our diversity. Not only in Karnataka, but anywhere in the country, we will not accept the imposition of Hindi. From every point of view, a child’s learning is best when it’s in their mother tongue.
Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification seems to have united the opposition parties. Do you think all opposition parties should come together to take on BJP in 2024?
They should come together to take on issues and the mistakes that are happening. What happened to Rahul Gandhi is ridiculous. If they are going to file defamation cases against everything, I don’t think there will be any politician who will be out of jail. The speed at which it was done and the fact that a lot of these cases are decided in Gujarat is compromising people’s belief in courts. That’s very sad. There are far more serious issues to go after. BJP, which claims to be the world’s largest party, should have more confidence in their work than trying to finish off small parties like AAP.
Does AAP also have a high command like any other parties?
The decisions regarding Karnataka are left to the local team but to ensure that there is no bias, we have an observer from Delhi. To ensure no wrongdoing, the tickets distribution is done by the political affairs committee as a level of separation is required. Interestingly, Arvind Kejriwal is a man who responds to us speedily. In a small party we have a multiple responsibility and we have an unwritten understanding that we should respond to a message within 24 hours and it applies to all, including me and Kejriwal.
Elections are becoming increasingly based on narratives. Voters are making an ‘impressed choice’ rather than ‘informed choice’. Don’t you think it is an unhealthy trend in democracy?
Indians are very emotional and here it is an emotional choice. We do get swayed by narratives. But I think after the advent of AAP, people are talking about basic needs and they relate to that. After Covid, they felt it with regard to the school fees issue. We did not want private schools to cut their fees, but wanted the government to bear it. So, on such issues, I think we also have won the hearts of the people. I believe it will help AAP. The question is whether it will happen in 2023 or 2025. Why I am saying 2025 is because unless AAP comes to power in Karnataka no other governments formed will last longer.
What made you join politics?
I am an accidental politician. I was abroad, came back to India as I missed Indian food, family, and during the Anna movement, got involved as a volunteer and the movement against the mining scam of Reddy brothers in Karnataka was at its peak. I used to visit Freedom Park for the rallies. When the party was launched, I didn’t want to join. Meanwhile, the Swedish embassy called 50 politicians from Sweden to Bengaluru for a conversation, which I attended. I was surprised that a boy from an environmental science background was in politics and had a conversation with him. I told him about my background as an educationist and he said my service is just a drop in the ocean. He made me realise that politics is a platform to realise dreams come true on a larger scale. Today, my intervention with the Delhi government helped the education of 20 lakh people, 4.5 lakh children studying the entrepreneurship curriculum which I carved out. I wrote back to that boy who inspired me to join politics.