AAP Victory, a victory for Delhi Women?

Vote counting is in progress in the landmark Delhi Assembly elections that took place this Saturday, 7th February 2014. While the final numbers are yet to be set in stone, what is established already is that the Aam Aadmi Party has set in motion a landslide.

Analysts everywhere are convinced that what really did the trick was the Aam Aadmi Party’s Aam Aadmi centric campaign. While Arvind Kejriwal, the man of the hour has us rest assured that he stands for We, the People, we can’t help by get excited about what this firebrand has in store for ‘She’, the People.

When it comes to Delhi, women security and the mettle required in delivering it, has been the deal maker and breaker, in deciding the fate of various parties vying for Delhi’s attention.  And if the Aam Aadmi Party’s campaign is anything to go by, the party is fully aware of the gravity of this situation.

Kejriwal in one of his interviews, unveiled a shocking statistic- since the AAP government stepped down a year ago, crimes against women in Delhi have gone up by a shocking 30 percent. Thus, the AAP is faced with the challenge to fix this statistic, now that they are set to form government in the capital.

Women supporters of AAP
Picture By: ABP Live

Calling the BJP a bafflingly “anti-women” party, he reminded his audience about not only the lack of progress, but the regressive stance the party leaders have tried to propagate. “Some ministers say do not wear jeans, some say women should have four children. Are they here only to produce children?” he said.

He was armed with a plan to reverse the damage. Amid much brouhaha, he released his 5 year plan on women security, at a Jan Sabha in Palam. Supporters addressed him as the “brother of all Daminis”, as Kejriwal, romised that Delhi would not see anymore “Trilokpuri or Damini” incidents.

“We have already planned what we will do for the women of Delhi. The AAP government will install at least 15 lakh CCTV cameras all over the capital. There will be a security guard in every bus and we will launch a Security Button App, which when pressed, will alert police who will reach the spot in five minutes,” Kejriwal said, sharing excerpts of his manifesto’s section dedicated to women.

While the BJP model for women's safety involves “locking them up inside their homes,” AAP's model is one of freedom, Kejriwal promises. “We want men and women to have equal rights," he believes.

Now, Kejriwal must stay true to his image of a Messiah, and double up as one for the damsel in distress too. Whether the AAP sweeps women’s issues out of the capital just like they swept the elections, is what remains to be seen.

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