Delhi’s New Chief Minister Wants to Radically Democratize Public Spending. Can It Work?
India is often called the world’s largest democracy, but when it comes to the country’s finances, decisions almost always rest with elites — and often corrupt ones. Arvind Kejriwal, the city of Delhi’s new chief minister, wants to change that. After campaigning on a platform of fighting corruption and holding officials more accountable, his Aam Aadmi Party won 67 of the 70 Delhi Assembly seats in the capital territory’s elections last month. And in his first speech to the Assembly he now heads, Kejriwal laid out plans for a radically democratic approach to public spending.
BY JUSTINE DRENNAN-MARCH 10, 2015 - 11:41 AM
India is often called the world’s largest democracy, but when it comes to the country’s finances, decisions almost always rest with elites — and often corrupt ones. Arvind Kejriwal, the city of Delhi’s new chief minister, wants to change that. After campaigning on a platform of fighting corruption and holding officials more accountable, his Aam Aadmi Party won 67 of the 70 Delhi Assembly seats in the capital territory’s elections last month. And in his first speech to the Assembly he now heads, Kejriwal laid out plans for a radically democratic approach to public spending.