Why AAP, AGP and Bangladesh’s NCP Fail the Test of Governance

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From Delhi to Assam to Dhaka, parties born out of ‘citizens’ movements’ collapsed under ambiguity, poor governance and personal ambition.

By NIRENDRA DEV

New Delhi, January 3, 2026 — If a political party appears uncertain about its own journey—its goals, ideological anchors, and governing priorities—it inevitably dents public confidence. Ambiguity breeds suspicion, and suspicion leads to political abandonment. This pattern explains why parties like AAP in India, AGP in Assam, and the New Citizens’ Party (NCP) in Bangladesh have struggled to sustain credibility beyond their initial breakthroughs.

The Aam Aadmi Party’s victories in Delhi in 2015 and 2020 were not merely electoral successes; they symbolised the entry of civil society into governance. Yet history shows that such transitions are fraught with risk when activism replaces administration.

The Northeast had witnessed this before. Assam’s Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) rose to power in 1986 on the back of a mass youth movement. Similar youth-led organisations across Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram commanded respect and influence. But governing requires more than moral authority.

AGP’s tenure quickly exposed this gap. Young leaders—fresh out of hostels—found themselves in the Secretariat, quarrelling over ministerial rooms, air-conditioning and privilege. Governance slipped into the background. It was during this period that ULFA revived, initially projecting itself as a Robin Hood force before degenerating into violent diktats. The spiral forced the Chandrashekhar government, supported by Congress, to dismiss the AGP regime and impose President’s Rule.

Delhi followed a disturbingly similar trajectory. Governance was never Arvind Kejriwal’s priority. From the Chief Minister’s office, he dreamt not of municipal reform but of taking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Personal attacks replaced policy. Hoardings multiplied, symbolism triumphed over substance, and Mohalla Clinics became more a branding exercise than a health reform.

Foreign encouragement flowed freely. Sections of India’s ‘sickular’ media projected Kejriwal as larger than life, ignoring the reality that his government functioned—at best—like an over-empowered municipal body. The cost was borne by Delhi’s citizens. The promise of a clean Yamuna entered public discourse only after Kejriwal was voted out in 2025.

This illusion of “citizens’ revolutions” now confronts Bangladesh’s New Citizens’ Party (NCP). Born from the July–August 2024 student protests that led to Sheikh Hasina’s ouster, the NCP faces elections without answering the most basic questions: What does it stand for? What principles guide its alliances and governance?

As Dhaka’s The Daily Star observed: “This is not a messaging problem. It is a failure of political self-definition.”

The NCP lacks a clear manifesto, remains socially isolated, and is largely confined to university campuses and foreign engagements rather than grassroots mobilisation. Native analysts argue that a party disconnected from society cannot credibly claim to represent it.

In this vacuum, ‘granddad’ Yunus appears increasingly trapped—frustrated, symbolic, and unsure of an exit route. Bengali intellectuals compare his position to Dr Manmohan Singh during the UPA era: authority without control, responsibility without agency.

Politically, the NCP has failed to articulate a sustained pro-people programme or demonstrate how it would govern differently. The pattern mirrors AAP’s degeneration into personality cult and AGP’s slide into careerism.

In Assam, politics became a career path for many talented youths. In Delhi, AAP offered an alternative job market—government salaries, perks, and political power. Service and governance were peripheral. The same disease now afflicts NCP, where whispers of luxury cars in Dhaka grow louder.

As The Daily Star warns: “Political trust arises from sustained clarity about ends, means, and limits. Ambiguity may offer short-term tactical advantages, but it is normatively corrosive.”

The question, then, is simple—and damning: What is common between AGP, AAP and Bangladesh’s NCP?

The answer lies not in ideology, but in the failure to govern.

(This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are author’s own)