The Frankenstein's Monsters

They are everywhere these days. You meet them on Facebook, Twitter, on the phone, around the street corner.

Sometimes they are seen holding placards, at other times, starting hashtags, surveys, signature campaigns, RTI applications, writing blogs and so on.

They are a different species, unlike others of similar tribes. They have hailed but don't say 'Hail Hitler". They follow but not blindly. They have adored and revered, but are not 'bhakts'.

They question when they have one. They challenge when subjugated. They disagree when they don't concur. They express their opinions.

Where did they learn these tools of the trade? Who guided them in their processes? Were they the same before? Who are they?

They are the Frankenstein's monsters created by the AAP. They are the 'aam aadmi, aam aurat, and the aam insaan' of our society. They could be volunteers, office bearers, supporters, donors or voters of the AAP.

They had given up their hope in the system. Then came the AAP. They saw a flicker, a dream, that things can change. And to their surprise, things started changing during the 49-day Government of the AAP.  Then came the resignation.

They were disappointed but had not lost hope. They made their anger known. Arvind Kejriwal heeded to them and gave his apology. And to everyone's surprise, not only did they forgive, but also rewarded the AAP with a thumping victory of 67 out of 70 seats in Delhi.

This time though, it did not even last for 49 days.Back then, the Frankensteins monsters were disappointed, but still they justified the resignation, supported the AAP in every debate that flared up in the virtual social world, as well as the real one. Though the AAP only got four seats in the Lok Sabha elections, their vote share in Delhi increased, and they got two percent vote share around the country despite the fact that they were not seen as major national players. It is different now. The hopes are dwindling, the dreams are blurred.

It started with the allegations on Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan, followed by their removal from the Political Affairs Committee of the AAP. They say that there are two groups of supporters now, those of Arvind and those of Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan. But this could be misleading. If you look closer, you will see that there are the usual followers, 'bhakts', of whoever and then there are the Frankenstein's monsters, the AAP's creations, who are not only disheartened about the whole series of events but are also working on it to keep it together.

This is a species, never seen before in the history of Indian politics. Supporters have been unhappy with their parties before, but they either choose to stay put and not argue or change their loyalties. This species has continued to stay with the AAP and question. The AAP they continue to stay with, is the idea of the AAP, which began on the 2nd October 2012 in the Constitution Club, following the India Against Corruption movement, when the party was not even named.

They have spent the sweat of their brow, some blood even, at times emptied their pockets, left jobs, skipped exams, argued with their closest people for this idea of the AAP. The idea which seems to be at the breaking point is held tightly, close to their hearts by these adorable Monsters, in their placards, hashtags, surveys, signature campaigns, RTI applications, blogs.......hoping somebody will listen.