AAP stands for compassionate capitalism

AAP had a historic victory in Delhi. It was an unprecedented and overwhelming victory for a party that was dismissed only a year ago as a group of anarchists that does not know how to govern.

Like every other start-up, AAP pivoted itself after the 2014 debacle and positioned itself as a party that can shape the destiny of Delhi with its focused development agenda.

The people of Delhi were disenchanted with both the mainstream political parties and latched on to AAP, which provided a credible, focused and honest alternative.

India is a very complex country. The reforms of 1991 opened the door for globalisation of the country. While the country has progressed well in the past two decades and is the third largest economy in the world by PPP today, it is also home to the largest number of poor with one-third of the world's 1.2 billion extreme poor living here as per the UN Millennium Development Goals Report 2014. While India has more than 100 billionaires, it ranks 135th in Human Development Index published by UNDP.

The reality is that the growth has not created inclusiveness and the income disparity has only increased over the years.

There is a concern about AAP leaning too much towards leftist ideology. In reality, AAP is neither left nor right. AAP stands for compassionate capitalism.

The decline of Congress, which is more leaned towards left; the success of BJP which is more leaned towards right; and the success of AAP in Delhi which is neither left nor right, shows that the electorate in India wants a fine balance in ideologies. No party can afford to be purely left or purely right.

The primary job of a government is to create an honest ecosystem where private enterprises can invest, create jobs and succeed. While low level, transactional corruption impacts citizens in their day-to-day life, crony capitalism puts brakes on sustainable long-term growth in the economy. Majority of the entrepreneurs in the country are honest and want to do business honestly but the system is making them corrupt. AAP's focus is to make Delhi the first corruption-free state in the country.

Also, the Jan Lokpal bill will ensure that a strong, independent ombudsman is available to check corruption in government functioning. Corruption free governance is the starting point for sustainable growth.

Tax compliance is low because of weak enforcement and complexity of regulations. Simplifying regulations, trusting the businesses through self-compliance and stricter law enforcement will go a long way in improving tax compliance. Also, involving citizens in government functioning will enhance trust in government that their taxes are well utilised. With the Swaraj bill, AAP intends to make citizens a major stakeholder in the functioning of the government.

Water and electricity are lifelines for every citizen. AAP's focus is to provide them on a sustainable basis at an affordable price points to all its citizens. While doing this, a mix of short-term and long-term measures are required. While in the long run, government should focus on creating captive capacity at an affordable price, reducing transmission losses, revenue leakage, etc.; in the short-term it should reduce the tariff by providing a state subsidy. The need of the hour is to make sure that the subsidies are well targeted to the needy without any leakages in the system.

The mandate from the Delhi public is for the government to address this issue with the required trade-offs. Healthcare and education are two other issues that bothered the citizens of Delhi for a very long time and AAP's focus is to improve the quality of delivery of both. The focus of AAP is to aim for more inclusive growth. It is very clear to AAP leadership, too, that they have to be fiscally prudent. We all need to learn from the problems facing Europe, which followed a truly welfare state model.

The Delhi elections is not a message to create a truly welfare state. On the contrary, it is a mandate for development-oriented governance that also shows compassion to the needy. The mandate is to remove VIP culture, cut wasteful expenditure, focus on infrastructure and development, create jobs through a vibrant ecosystem, address the pain points of the common man and create more inclusive governance. The mandate is for the government to be closer to the common man than be disconnected and seen as a ruler. The mandate is for greater transparency and empowerment. In short, the mandate is for truly creating a government that is of the people, by the people, and for the people.

The citizens of Delhi have taken a small step by electing AAP, but it is a giant leap for honest politics in the country. AAP has definitely changed the political discourse in the country and its success is important for the future politics in India.

(The author is a member of the AAP and former CFO of Infosys)