Tryst with Delhi Janata

Delhi Janata is sealing today the fate of Arvind Kejriwal (AK) in an election which has become a referendum on his shoot-and-scoot politics. Sections of the media, bureaucracy, and business class have made him the flavour of Hastinapura in their bid to checkmate Narendra Modi. Political class inside and outside the BJP contributed to their campaign in no small measure. Will the gamble succeed? It is inversely proportional to how effectively the RSS cadres push the committed BJP voters to the polling booths.

The post of Delhi CM is one of those toothless wonders that the Indian Constitution has gifted us. Sheila Dixit, who had held the post from 1998 to 2013, knows it better. When she refused to acknowledge the reality, and tried to hog the limelight, the voters rejected her and her party, the Congress. The fact of the matter is Delhi CM has no power over the police and land - both are with the Union Government which runs its show from Raisina Hill.

No surprise, Prime Minister Modi has asked the Delhi electorate to entrust the city–state to his party, saying that it is directly working with him. It is conventional wisdom. In his quest for the big picture, he has ignored what matters to people is the cutting edge of government at municipality, electricity office, milk booth and city buses – all areas known for petty bribes. AK has been focusing on these areas, and has become a darling of a large section of the people.

A story that has been doing rounds of “Kutraprastha,” as Delhi is often called, is that AK is the “original” RSS man. In the light of his fight against the BJP, the charge should not stand scrutiny. But such is the strength of the narrative it demands attention after slipping in the usual caveats.

If we go by this version, AK’s megalomania made him unwanted by the Parivar long days after he was made a hero on the anti-corruption platform of Anna Hazare during the Congress–led UPA-II rule. The Congress picked up the discard, hoping to make him a Chandrasekhar or Charan Singh. Unlike the old stalwarts, who are now no more than small dots in recent history, AK outsmarted the Congress, and carved out a place for himself by becoming a ‘bhagodas’ (‘deserter’) within 49 days of taking over as the Chief Minister. Some of the dirty linen washed during the campaign lends credibility to the general impression that KB also has been working with the BJP for a long while.

Both AK and KB are ‘bhagodas’ in a manner of speaking. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor converted this negative image into his biggest asset during the campaign, and sought a clear majority in the 70-member Assembly to become the glorified Sarpanch of the national capital. The former police officer-turned-BJP mascot failed to do so, though she had entered the fray as a clear favourite.

Between the two, KB’s record as “bhagoda” has been more extended. May be this is one reason why she faced difficulty in emulating her former friend. She failed to complete her tenure as police officer on four occasions – on two occasions she reportedly left her post without permission. She did not complete her term as Deputy Inspector General of Police in Mizoram early in the 1990s soon after facing state-wide protests against getting her daughter admitted to a Delhi medical college on Mizoram quota. She thought she had done nothing illegal, but her view was not shared by protestors.

Being a police person, KB has an authoritarian streak by default and this trait has become her negative USP. Journalists, who interacted with her during her police days, recall that she was, to put it mildly, an unconventional police officer, a trait that endeared her to some and infuriated others. Her seniors were said to be in the latter category.

These are uncharitable questions particularly on a polling day, more so as she has rightly earned a name as a fearless person, who does not mince words. Whatever fan following she has today is on account of her, let us say, unusual personality.

Frankly, today’s contest is AK-KB show and its outcome will have far-reaching consequences on the future of their parties – the AAP and the BJP. The sign of nervousness discernable more clearly in the BJP camp is, therefore, understandable. After a spectacular show in the Lok Sabha polls, the party can ill-afford a poor performance, much less a loss at the hustings in the national capital. Another hung assembly might mitigate the negative impact, but not fully.

It is for this reason the BJP has thrown in all that it has in winning this poll. Look at the number of ministers and party workers mobilised from across the country to persuade Delhi to elect the BJP candidates. We used to witness such a show during the Congress regime. Another signal that BJP has slipped into the Congress slot!

Almost the same arguments and factors that are important for the BJP can be applied to the Aam Aadmi Party. After the unexpectedly and unexceptionally good show in the Delhi assembly polls a year ago, the party had begun to dream big. AK fancied himself as the leader of the entire country. His hopes were dashed when the Varanasi electorate rejected him outright and Delhi refused to send even one AAP nominee to the Lok Sabha. Only Punjab offered some consolation by rewarding him with four seats. Kejriwal’s most vocal support base in Delhi is the middle class and the ‘intellectual’ community; they have turned their back on him.

Both AAP and BJP find themselves on the same page in one area - in the matter of money spent on publicity. The party of the ‘common man’ has been as lavish as the cash-rich BJP. Will that be enough to push AAP to Delhi Sachivalaya? We will know when the EVMs are opened.

By: Malladi Rama Rao