The Aam Aadmi party's spectacular debut in the Delhi election has shaken up India's political class because it was an expression of views about them and governance more generally. The revolt of the people is now not just at the periphery in remote Naxal districts but in the capital itself and that too a few months before the general election. Nobody knows how the potential impact of this revolt on the electoral fortunes of the major parties.

The AAP succeeded because they successfully gauged and articulated the sentiments of the common citizen on what needs to change in the governance of this country. The AAP had a sophisticated system of polls and group discussions to find out what was troubling people most and they went by what they found rather than relying on some fixed ideological programme.

What does it tell us about the common citizen's views about economic policy? How feasible and desirable are their ideas that found expression in the AAP's election promises and subsequent statements by Arvind Kejriwal?

The dominant theme of the AAP's promises is to end the abuse of power by public functionaries and to change the nature of the relationship between the citizen and the government. Hence on the corruption issue there is the promise of an effective Lokpal, the jailing and confiscation of the property of any public official found guilty of corruption and strong support for honest public servants.  The AAP has taken the theme of decentralisation quite far for instance, by  talking of setting up 3000 Mohalla sabhas to decide priorities, for public spending in their area.

The common citizen's emphasis on corruption reflects personal experiences of having to go through touts or pay bribes for what should be theirs by right,  like a ration card or a driving licence. It reflects also the fear of tax authorities and inspectorates that affects not just the traders that Kejriwal mentioned in his maiden speech but many others. 

Public functionaries empowered to enforce fiscal and other laws seem to treat everyone one in their bailiwick  as a potential criminal to be terrorised and bullied into submission or, if they are corrupt, as a potential source of illegal lucre.  The honest citizen approaches the public functionaries with trepidation while the dishonest citizen is hand in glove with them. This is no way to run a government in a democracy.

In a society where dishonesty is rife one understands the need for sternness, something that the present Finance Minister seems to rely on as one can see in the recent TV ads about the service tax. But surely there should be some application of mind to determine when the powers of enforcement become also the power of extortion.

The AAP is spot on in focussing on widespread corruption at the top (which is what the Lokpal will tackle) and at the bottom where the bureaucracy interacts with the citizen (which is what will be addressed by the stringent penalties for corrupt public servants).

But their message of decentralisation is more problematic. Consider the role of the proposed mohalla sabhas in determining public expenditure priorities. What happens if one mohalla gives priority to repaving a road while a neighbouring mohalla decides against giving such priority to the continuation of the road in its area. The same inconsistency could arise in other areas like relaying of water pipes or improving street lighting. Decentralisation cannot be at the expense of rational planning of infrastructure which requires a higher level of decision making than the mohalla. 

The AAP has another major plank in their platform and that is of making basic necessities affordable which is what has led them to the cut in electricity tariffs and the free water to metered consumers. In many ways this mirrors the competitive populism that every party indulges in. But there are other dimensions of the emphasis on basic needs that is relatively new. The promise about cleaning up school admissions will appeal to every parent who has gone through the trauma of getting their child into a good school. The reference to affordable health care will be a solace for the many households who have faced catastrophic health expenditures.

All of these feel good elements in the AAP's promises will resonate well with the public. But have they really worked out the impact on the budget? What is the AAP's stance on the economic policies that directly affect investment, growth and job creation? Ultimately the common citizen is affected more by these than by improvements in municipal facilities and administration.

Temperamentally the leading lights of the AAP seem to be wedded to a sort of Gandhian socialism-small is good, big is bad, effective swaraj means decentralisation, foreign capital is not welcome and so on. One does not know whether this reflects the common citizen's view or only that of the leadership. However one thing that does come across is the widespread concern about inflation and job creation. In essence what the AAP is saying is that 6% growth with low inflation and a high rate of job creation is better than 9% growth with inflation and a low rate of job creation.

Inflation management and job creation requires new investment and higher production. This cannot all be done in the labour intensive small sector. It requires recognising the role of the corporate sector in moving the engine of economic development. The AAP is right to be suspicious about the role of the corporate sector in the spread of corruption, particularly at the top where money has to be raised for expensive elections. But an effective damper on corruption will allow the honest corporates more room for expansion and their contribution should be welcomed and not looked at with suspicion.

The other area where AAP's policy stance could become problematic is their suspicion of foreign investment. They may be right in questioning its usefulness in retail trade. But the Indian economy, including its farmers and   small scale sector are now more integrated into the world economy. Foreign capital with suitable safeguards can provide the technology and market access that they require.

If the AAP can combine its non-sectarian orientation and it's capacity to articulate citizen sentiments about governance with citizen education on the compulsions of modernisation and globalisation it will do a great service to our democracy.