Amartya Sen salutes AAP electoral strategy, asks it to be more inclusive
Nobel laureate Amartya Sen has called AAP's success in Delhi Assembly election a major achievement and saluted its electoral strategy. He said, "To be able to win electoral support massively in Delhi on the basis of a program which is about equity even though their understanding of equity may be somewhat distorted, but I thought that what they were trying to do to win it without appeal to communal division, caste division was a major achievement. So I salute AAP electoral strategy and success."
On the issue of making policy for the aam aadmi, Sen said, "When it comes to making policy, they have to identify who the aam aadmi are as it is a variable term. If you are looking at the poorest of poor they are not asking for cheaper electricity, they don't have electricity."
Sen has also asked the AAP to re-examine its position and widen the definition of aam aadmi. He said, "I don't doubt that they have intelligent people there. I've had some correspondence with Kejriwal in the past and I admire his courage and dedication. I've known Yogendra Yadav and I'm sure they would be thinking about it. But they need to understand what a party is fighting for equity and for the Indian poor. What kind of inequity they have to look at, which is the not the same issue as that sailed them to power in Delhi.
"These are very early days so I would like to encourage them to think again and re-examine their position and make them not just for the aam aadmi in a very limited definition but aam aadmi in a wider definition. Given that I do wish them well," he added.
