Congress-AAP's Unity Strongly Needed, Should Have Fought Delhi Polls Together: Amartya Sen

Advocating a "strong need" for unity between the Congress and the Aam Admi Party (AAP), Nobel laureate Professor Amartya Sen said that the two parties should have fought the Delhi elections together with mutually agreed commitments.

Speaking to PTI during an exclusive interview at his ancestral home here in West Bengal's Birbhum district, Sen also said that if secularism in India were to survive, there would not only have to be unity but also agreement on things that had made India an excellent example of pluralism.

"I don't think the result of the Delhi elections should be exaggerated, but it certainly has its significance. And if the AAP had won there, that victory would have carried its own weight," Sen told PTI.

Delving deeper into the reasons behind AAP's setback, the eminent economist said that one factor is the "lack of unity among those who did not want a Hindutva-oriented government in Delhi".

"If you look at the numbers in many seats, the margin of BJP's advantage over the AAP was less, sometimes far less, than the votes that the Congress received," he said.

According to him, another important question is clarity with respect to policy.

"What were the AAP's commitments? I don't think the AAP succeeded in making clear that it was firmly secular and for all Indians. There was too much catering to Hindutva. So it's not even clear how committed it was against religious communalism. The AAP didn't take clear sides on that," the Nobel laureate claimed.

The nonagenarian, however, praised the AAP for its efforts on school education and healthcare and suggested that the Congress should have joined the party on those issues.

"I have a daughter living in Delhi, and she and her family praise the AAP's efforts in the spheres of school education and healthcare. The Congress could have come together with the AAP, saying, 'we like their schools, we like their hospitals, we want to extend them, and go beyond'. That would have been a better line than the one it took," he said.

"The lack of focus of the opposition parties on public services in Delhi made it possible for the eventual electoral victors to focus instead on liquor licences and tax laws. AAP leaders were even held in custody, awaiting trial," he added.

Sen said that the AAP could have focused more on issues of secularism as well as health care and education for all and could have done more to try and join hands with Congress on these.

"Instead they were on different sides," Sen said.

"The fact is that this is a war that the AAP with the INDIA coalition need not have lost. But they did," he said.

Asked whether there could be any impact of the result of the Delhi elections on Indian politics, the economist said that parties should be clear on where they stand and why.

"Yes, indeed. I think the big impact may be on elections in Uttar Pradesh," said Sen.

"The lesson to learn from the AAP's poll debacle is to reinforce to a great extent what the Samajwadi Party did at the time of the general election, namely, to take a clear stand against Hindutva politics. Most Indians don't want a Hindu Rashtra," he stressed.

He hoped that "the Delhi election results would have the effect of emphasising the need for unity of vision." Talking about whether the results of the Delhi polls could have any impact on the Assembly elections in Bengal next year, Sen said every election in India has an impact on others and there could possibly be an effect.

"In Bengal, even though secular parties like the Trinamool Congress, the CPI(M) and the Congress have gone separate ways, there is still something of a social consensus on the importance of secularism, and also for education and health care for all, and even for social justice. I do not see a Delhi-type debacle happening in West Bengal." "So yes, we have to watch out. But think dialectically. With greater focus on non-corrupt, honest governance, and a secular, justice-oriented and tolerant society, I don't think Bengal is in great danger of falling into a sectarian trap," the economist said.

The 91-year-old intellectual said that he dreamt of a united India moving faster and the lives of people becoming better.

"I would like to see India in which everyone is educated and has good, solid, reliable health care. I would like all to have a vision of a united India and ultimately a united world.

"We have a long way to go for that, but we have to bear these visions in mind. Yes, these include a lot of unfulfilled desires. I wouldn't say dreams, because these are all achievable things if we follow good, tolerant, cooperative politics and base our policies on them." 

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