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Paper short abstract:

This paper will use anthropological research to study the model of governance established by the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi and explore the connections forged by legislative members with their electoral constituencies via ‘mohalla sabhas’ (neighbourhood council meetings).

Paper long abstract:

In 2015, after the newly formed Aam Aadmi Party wrested power in the state assembly elections in Delhi, a decentralised model of governance empowering ordinary people in political decision-making processes was established. Known as ‘mohalla sabhas’ or neighbourhood council meetings, this process involved an experimentation in direct democracy, which built upon previous models of citizen engagement. The paper builds upon my PhD thesis research on the right to information movement, which focussed on the grassroots citizen’s movement built around ideas of transparency and accountability in governance. Putting people at the centre of decision-making processes instead of letting the elected representatives and bureaucrats call the shots was very much at the root of activist interventions in the RTI movement. In this paper, I will be employing ethnographic research to explore the connections that AAP legislative members (MLAs) have forged with their voters via neighbourhood meetings, and how this seeks to address the gaps in governance that has been the cause of much unwellness in political institutions. This paper will delineate democracy as a process and how issues such as influence of money and muscle power in politics, which have resulted in the systemic erosion of democratic values, are sought to be addressed by reclaiming democracy from below. The paper will focus on research produced in two urban constituencies – Malviya Nagar and Seemapuri in Delhi – which have seen a strong presence of AAP leaders since 2012, when the party was first formed a decade ago.