Education Will Be Our Main Election Agenda: Manish Sisodia

In the run-up to the 2019 elections, as alliances are being stitched, both by the ruling alliance and the Opposition, there is much speculation about the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). BW Businessworld’s Prerna Lamba speaks to Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister and AAP leader Manish Sisodia on the party’s views on PM Modi, grand alliance, and the road ahead for the party.

Excerpts:

How is national politics shaping up?
There is no hope of ‘Ache Din’. Actually, they have confessed that whatever they said was jumlas (rhetoric). Forget about the politics, I disagree with Mr Modi on many fronts, including his Gujarat experiments, his myths. Anybody who is serious about the development of the country, skills India, digital India, Swachh Bharat, I am with him, but please deliver, don’t just give slogans. Because your intent and content are different. Intent is so much, for Hindu raj, mandir masjid. Intent is Vijay Mallya and Ambani and Adanis. And then content is, you talk about, Digital and Swachh Bharat so there is a big difference. So people have lost faith in the last five years, I can say that. People had lots of hope, that’s why India gave around 50 per cent of votes to Mr Modi. I doubt he will get this much this time.

Will PM Modi come back to power in 2019?
I doubt that, because people are sick of his policies. There are three things mainly. First, his policies like demonetisation, bad implementation of GST and the crisis in the banking system, all that’s because of his policies. Second, the initiatives and the slogans that he gave like Digital India, Skill India. Nothing actually worked, everything was on paper or in slogans or events. And third, his actual deeds, those are very dangerous for the country. He is trying to break the social fabric of the country which is dangerous for my country.

What kind of national role does AAP see for itself?
My role is to see that ‘education’ becomes a part of the political discourse. Any party that takes it up benefits my country and me as a citizen. The Aam Aadmi Party has such a dream. One day, we can see the Aam Aadmi Party ruling in many states, working on education in many states, that’s a dream, a step-by-step dream. But if you ask me that “ultimate tangent” that I look forward to is that if we are successful in Delhi, we are politically successful. We are doing a lot of things on education, people are praising it and we can see the results also. I’ll consider this to be success when other parties start talking about education and health. That will be my success.

A front consisting of the Congress and other parties is being called the Federal Front. Where does AAP see itself?
I see alliance happening on TV channels. Every morning and evening when you switch on TV channels to learn what is happening in the country, you come to know there is an alliance happening, this gathbandhan, that gathbandhan, this is building up, that is breaking up. Being an AAP leader, I know we are not into anything.

Will your CM join national-level politics in future and leave Delhi to you?
No, I don’t think so. We are doing a lot of things on the education front and people are praising it. Education should be the main election agenda.