Kissa Kursi Ka: Save innocent voters of Delhi

The battle for Kursi in Delhi has become a high voltage tamasha. And the plot thickens with lies and lampoons. The electronic media has reduced its role as if they are organizing a bull fight. Allegations and counter allegations are pouring in. BJP calls Kejriwal as Bhagoda. Kejriwal calls BJP leader Narendra Modi as showman. But, Kejriwal’s uncanny ability to fight back amid all odds stands out. Before the Delhi election campaign everything was against Kejriwal. In his 49 days rule, he earned bad reputation for himself. As a result, AAP could not win a single Lok Sabha seat in Delhi. The top leaders of AAP had left the party. Its founder member Shanti Bhusan publicly praised Kiran Bedi and condemned Kejriwal for giving tickets to unscrupulous people. Kejriwal seeking Congress support for forming government has soiled his India against corruption image. The AAP people have beaten African women at the dead of night and their leader made derogatory remarks on Kerala women. In spite of so many negative factors Kejriwal is able to spring back. The survey shows Delhi may have another hung parliament. The gain of AAP is mainly due to the vacuum created by Congress in Delhi. After Dr Harshbardhan’s exit, BJP had no strong leader to face the indefatigable Kejriwal who was at his creative best. Kejriwal targeted voters in unorganized sector to increase his vote share. The Muslim minority base of Congress is now won over by AAP.

After a landslide Lok Sabha victory the BJP workers were ensconcing in Modi’s popularity. Kejriwal that time was working hard to tap the unorganized sector people which constitutes 60% of the Delhi population. He has declared 50% power tariff cut and many more freebies for the voters. Nobody has asked him from where he will get the money to pay the bill. He is desperate to bury his past deeds. But the entry of Kiran Bedi has upset his calculation. Though Bedi is an outsider to BJP her nonpolitical back ground and proven governance skill has made her shine among other leaders. Bedi is known for her strong will, honesty and zeal for social work. Her police back ground is an added advantage which may reduce crime rate in Delhi. Poll pundits predict Bedi’s popularity is steadily increasing and Bedi has won the confidence of BJP workers. But the tireless Kejriwal has many more tricks under his sleeves. He is the most unpredictable politician today who can link to common man at will. AAP may not match the organization strength of BJP which has pressed its top leaders for election campaign. But AAP’s desperate attempt to reestablish link with the mass bears fruits. Kejriwal has proved to be a creative leader. His mass SMS, his voice SMS requesting voters to accept him again and his door to door campaign with simple Aam Aadmi attire are his innovations. The muffler man is on the prowl in Delhi slums blaming Congress and BJP for all the misery which has befallen on common man. He coughs intermittently as if he has no money to treat his cold. He was coughing during his last election campaign also. Kejriwal has put all his effort to be identified with common man.

But, Amit Shah has dented Kejriwal’s common man image by giving a full length interview to media saying Kejriwal had modified his bunglow for personal comfort, distributed Innova cars among his party men and travelled in executive class during his rule which lasted 49 days. One thing is clear that Kejirwal has made his intention clear that he has come to win election by any means. He is going to fill up the vacuum created by Congress. The point is in spite of his several u turns Kejriwal is able to recover his popularity. Kejriwal’s recovery, the erosion of Congress votes and BJP new entrant Kiran Bedi shows Delhi may face another hung assembly.

The battle for Kurshi in Delhi will be over soon. But, whether it will improve the living condition of Delhi people? Whether it will let women travel in Delhi freely at the late hour of night. Whether Delhites could choose an able Chief Minister who can ensure safety, good governance and improve the living standard of people? The national capital Delhi has become a mock capital due to political chicanery, populism, false promises of politicians, corruption, nepotism and high drama. The utter failure of the electronic media to remove the masks of politicians who keep on fooling innocent people at the time of election is not good for democracy. Electronic media has failed to educate Delhites about the social and economic issues people face every day. Media is unnecessarily focusing on a few leaders which results into blurring of good work of some really good candidates in Delhi who belong to every party. It is the responsibility of the media to project true leaders who can really serve people. The poor quality electronic media’s presentation with mindless special effects looks like as if some old gramophone record is stuck up somewhere. Delhi needs a strong Chief Minister who can save Delhi from its progressive degradation.

By Sudhansu R Das