AAP is trying its hand at soft hindutva politics now

AAP made headlines when they decimated the Congress and won the Punjab polls with an astounding mandate last month. The win has also brought into the limelight questions regarding its ideological positioning.AAP has long been touted as a populist centrist party that occasionally flirts with Hindu majoritarian symbolism. Till the year 2019, the Kejriwal-led party took a vocal anti-BJP stand, even going to lengths to call Prime Minister a psychopath. Things changed after AAP's dismal performance in the 2019 elections.

The poor electoral performance made AAP realize that the ideological center-ground of Indian politics has shifted Right, and it's best to swerve right to stay relevant .Kejriwal's broader push to re-orient the ideology of his party started then, and AAP refashioned its centrist populism in a distinctive rightward mould.

AAP, while also milking its welfare schemes and Delhi Model of Governance for votes, also started legitimizing Hindutva majoritarian symbols in the public space. Apart from indulging in defending Hindu symbolism, AAP has made attempts to wrest a part of the political ownership of Ram Mandir – a symbol of the 'victory' of Hindu India over both Muslims and a secular idea of India – from the BJP.

On Diwali last year, Arvind Kejriwal led his Cabinet in prayers at a "state of the art" replica of the Ram Temple of Ayodhya. Kejriwal also notably stayed silent as his government held the Tablighi Jamat responsible for the spike in COVID cases in the national capital. The Delhi government led by Kejriwal also wasn't too keen on taking a strong, adamant stand against the North-eastern Delhi Riots, which killed over 50 people.

Aam Aadmi Party has successfully positioned Arvind Kejriwal as a devout Hindu who pays homage to Ram Lalla in Ayodhya and wants the Hindu elderly to visit Ayodhya for Ram Lalla's darshan. Kejriwal has also asked nearly two crores of Delhiites to perform Diwali Puja. In December 2021, AAP had carried out a Tiranga Yatra in parts of Punjab, which Arvind Kejriwal said would be "carried out in an atmosphere of patriotism amid chants of 'Bharat Mata ki Jai."

Throughout the electoral campaign in Punjab, AAP functionaries regularly raised issues related to Indo-Pak border security and drone threats. In November, Punjab state co-in charge and AAP Spokesperson Raghav Chaddha cast a shadow on then Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu addressing Pakistan PM Imran Khan as his "big brother." He said that it was deeply worrying that Punjab's ruling party chief and CM were professing their love for Pakistan and its prime minister. Arvind Kejriwal, on 15 February, merely five days before the Punjab elections, said that the breach in prime minister Modi's security has Hindus and traders in the state worried. 

While AAP entered the electoral fray in Punjab upholding its anti-elite image, positioning themselves as revolutionaries who would upset the existing systems of power, likening themselves to leaders including Bhagat Singh, it also put effort to make sure to work within the boundaries set by the BJP's larger ideological framework. Even though the party's main electoral plank in Punjab was the promise of the Delhi Model of Governance and on civic issues, the Kejriwal-led party also didn't shy away from occasionally raising the 'Hindu khatre mein hai' pitch.

In Goa, the party was able to open its account by banking on its "Hindu-friendly" image as opposed to the other parts like TMC and Congress in the fray. AAP's electoral campaign and its performance indicate that the party' soft Hindutva politics does have its takers, and this ideological repositioning is likely to help the party position itself as the prime opposition to the BJP in a few years. AAP's long-term strategy to replace Congress as the alternative pole to the BJP is expected to come to fruition if the party continues neutralizing the ideological threat of the BJP by operating within the Hindutva framework.