Ahmed Kamran Abid for BeyondHeadlines
I have neither had any political background nor had any interest in politics ever but coming from Bihar I could grasp how politics moved right left and centre. My rendezvous with politics in my student days in Patna was just religiously voting in each and every election be it parliamentary or assembly polls. But honestly speaking I never wanted to become part of any political process or any political institution until and unless Aam Aadmi Party was announced.
When Anna movement began I started to observe it closely through TV news & newspapers, a team of people demanding for a law which says it can stop corruption and government and other political parties denying the law and want to have a bargain even in terms of law which straight away says how corrupt our leaders are that they cannot accept a strict law in which each and every citizen of the country treated equally.
Time passed by and Aam Aadmi Party was formed. Till then I had no intention to join it, it was the Damini case which compelled me to join the party, a revolution, because I was amazed to see how a chief minister of state could be helpless in saying that police is not in her control, she may be technically right at that point of time.
Then I came in contact with Asna Nausheen, who was looking after the affairs of ward number 205 at the Okhla Vidhan Sabha. She introduced me to other volunteers.
We were very few in numbers at that time, barely 4-5 active members. I still remember people use to laugh and make fun of us when we walked on road wearing our cap and national flag in our hand but it was the light in our soul which became brighter day by day that we can change the system.
We use to do all the work assigned by our party on our own (from sticking poster on wall to banners on autos) etc, as we did not have funds to hire people to do work. It was bijli, pani andolan when people admired our move.
When we were asked to get ready for assembly election and start our work in reaching the masses, we were termed as “vote katva party” and said that we stand no where in the race. People use to say that we will not get even 500 votes from the locality in the elections. They use to say “AAP ki to Zamanat Zapt honi he hai” but we kept on working till the day of election came and passed by.
It was the counting day when I moved in the locality with other volunteers to go to CP office people stopped us and congratulated us for our remarkable performance in the elections. Suddenly their view changed and we started commanding respect which we never got in the locality. People admired our work. They said they have not expected this kind of performance.
People said they have done a big mistake by not supporting us in the elections. I was a bit sad as we lost our seat as I mentioned in a conversation with some people they said you won Delhi it’s time for celebrations but for me it’s time to start working as now it’s the time to deliver.
After the Declaration of formation of government in Delhi I received end number of call congratulating me.
It was a great day for us.
