Aam Aadmi Party From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Page semi-protected Aam Aadmi Party Aam Aadmi

Party logo.svg Leader Arvind Kejriwal Founded 26 November 2012 Headquarters Ground Floor, A-119, Kaushambi (NCR), Ghaziabad- 201010 Ideology Swaraj Anti-corruption Political position Center-left[1] ECI Status State party Seats in Lok Sabha 0 / 545 Seats in Rajya Sabha 0 / 245 Seats in Legislative Assembly 28 / 70 (Delhi Legislative Assembly) Website www.aamaadmiparty.org Politics of India Political parties Elections Aam Aadmi Party (translation: Common Man Party; abbreviated AAP) is an Indian po litical party, formally launched on 26 November 2012. It came into existence fol lowing differences between the activists Arvind Kejriwal and Anna Hazare regardi ng whether or not to politicise the popular India Against Corruption movement th at had been demanding a Jan Lokpal Bill since 2011. Hazare preferred that the mo vement should remain politically unaligned while Kejriwal felt the failure of th e agitation route necessitated a direct political involvement. The AAP has led several protests since its formation. Among these was a campaign against an alleged nexus between government and private corporations relating t o price rises for electricity and water in Delhi. Another saw the party demandin g justice for victims of sexual harassment and rape, including the introduction of a stronger anti-rape law.[2][3][4] The party's first electoral test was in th e 2013 Delhi legislative assembly election, from which it emerged as the secondlargest party, winning 28 of the 70 seats. With no party obtaining an overall ma jority, the AAP formed a minority government with conditional support from the I ndian National Congress. Contents [hide] 1 Background 2 Ideology 3 Agenda 3.1 Awareness campaigns 4 Support 5 Protests 6 Delhi Assembly election, 2013 7 See also 8 References 9 External links Background The origin of the AAP can be traced to a difference of opinion between Arvind Ke jriwal and Anna Hazare, social activists who had both been involved in Team Anna , a strand of the anti-corruption movement for Jan Lokpal Bill that had gained m omentum in India during 2011 and 2012.[5] Hazare had wanted to keep the movement politically neutral but Kejriwal considered that direct involvement in politics was necessary because attempts to obtain progress regarding the Jan Lokpal Bill through talks with existing political parties had, in his opinion, achieved not hing. A survey conducted by the India Against Corruption organisation using soci

al networking services had indicated that there was wide support for politicisat ion.[6][7] Hazare and Kejriwal agreed on 19 September 2012 that their differences regarding a role in politics were irreconcilable. Kejriwal had support from some well-kno wn people involved in the anti-corruption movement, such as Prashant Bhushan and Shanti Bhushan, but was opposed by others such as Kiran Bedi and Santosh Hegde. On 2 October,[8] Kejriwal announced that he was forming a political party and t hat he intended the formal launch to be 26 November, coinciding with the anniver sary of India's adoption of its constitution in 1949.[6][7] The party name reflects the phrase Aam Aadmi, or "common man", whose interests K ejriwal proposed to represent. A party constitution was adopted on 24 November 2 012, when a National Council comprising 320 people and a National Executive of 2 3 were also formed. Both the Council and the Executive were expected to have mor e members in due course, with the intention being that all districts and all cla sses of people would have a voice.[7] Various committees were to be formed to dr aft proposals for adoption by the party in a process that was expected to take s everal months. Although one aim was to limit nepotism, there were complaints at this initial meeting that the selection of people invited to attend was itself a n example of such practices[9] The party was formally launched in Delhi on 26 No vember[10] and in March 2013 it was registered as a political party by the Elect ion Commission of India.[11][a] Ideology The AAP says that the promise of equality and justice that forms a part of the c onstitution of India and its preamble has not been fulfilled and that the indepe ndence of India has replaced enslavement to an oppressive foreign power with tha t to a political elite.[13] The party claims that the common people of India rem ain unheard and unseen except when it suits the politicians to consider them. It wants to reverse the way that the accountability of government operates and has taken an interpretation of the Gandhian concept of swaraj as a tenet. It believ es that through swaraj the government will be directly accountable to the people instead of higher officials. The swaraj model lays stress on self governance, c ommunity building and decentralisation.[13][14] Kejriwal says AAP refuses to be guided by ideologies and that they are entering politics to change the system: "We are aam aadmis. If we find our solution in th e left we are happy to borrow it from there. If we find our solution in the righ t, we are happy to borrow it from there."[15] Agenda As of November 2013, the AAP is proposing to introduce four primary policies:[16 ] Jan Lokpal legislation Right to Reject[b] Right to Recall Political decentralisation Awareness campaigns The party has conducted public awareness campaigns to educate people about "righ t to reject" and requested Election Commissions of certain States to allow voter s to exercise their right to reject in electronic voting machines.[19] Support On 26 November 2012, the formal launch day of the AAP, the former law minister, Shanti Bhushan, donated INR1 crore (US$150,000). Prashant Bhushan, his son, is m ember of the party's National Executive Committee.[20] On 18 May 2013, a group of Indian-Americans from 20 different cities in the USA held a convention in Chicago and extended support to the AAP. The convention was attended by two AAP leaders, Kumar Vishwas and Yogendra Yadav, and Kejriwal add ressed it via video conferencing.[21] Aruna Roy and Medha Patkar, who had differ ences with Kejriwal on certain issues, supported him after his 15 day fast again st inflated electricity bills.[22]

Protests On 23 March 2013, Kejriwal began an indefinite fast in an attempt to mobilize pe ople against inflated power and electricity bills at a house in Sundar Nagri, a low-income group resettlement colony in North-East Delhi.[23] During protest he urged Delhi citizens not to pay "inflated" water and electricity bills.[24] The AAP also demanded an audit of power and electricity supply in Delhi by the Compt roller and Auditor General of India which was supported by Civil Society Groups like National Alliance of People s Movement (NAPM).[25] The AAP claimed that the pro test gathered support from 1,00,000 people in Delhi on a single day and from mor e than 3,00,000 people up to 28 March 2013.[26] Anna Hazare urged Kejriwal to en d the fast and he did so on 6 April.[22] On 10 June 2013, Kejriwal supported the agitation of Delhi auto rickshaw drivers , who were protesting the Delhi government's ban on advertisements on auto ricks haws.[27] Kejriwal claimed that, auto rickshaw drivers supported his party and t hey carried AAP's advertisements on their auto rickshaws and this is the reason for Delhi Government's ban and he challenged that volunteers of AAP will put 10, 000 advertisements on auto rickshaws as a protest.[27] Delhi Assembly election, 2013 Main article: Delhi Legislative Assembly election, 2013 The 2013 Delhi state assembly elections were the party's first electoral contest . The Election Commission approved the symbol of a "broom" for use by the AAP in that campaign.[28] The party said that its candidates were honest and had been screened for potential criminal backgrounds.[29] The AAP published its central m anifesto on 20 November 2013, promising to implement the Jan Lokpal Bill within 15 days of coming to power.[30] In November 2013, Shazia Ilmi, one of the AAP candidates, offered to withdraw he r candidature as a result of a video-recorded sting operation that allegedly sho wed some high-profile AAP candidates receiving donations in return for political favours. The AAP refused to accept her withdrawal, describing the footage as fa bricated and a violation of the Model Code of Conduct.[31][32] The Election Comm ission ordered an inquiry regarding the legitimacy of the video.[33] AAP emerged as the second-largest party in Delhi winning 28 of the 70 Assembly s eats; the Bharatiya Janata Party won 31, Indian National Congress won eight and three were won by others.[34][35] On 28 December 2013, the AAP formed a minority government in the hung Assembly, with what Sheila Dikshit describes as "not unc onditional" support from Indian National Congress.[36] Arvind Kejriwal became th e second-youngest Chief Minister of Delhi.[37]