Winter, it seems, has delivered its final blow already. While the
actual temperature is not likely to dip any further from what it is now,
the political temperature is shooting up like anything in the national
capital. With the Assembly Elections hardly three days away, Delhi is
gearing up for one of the most awaited and dramatic elections after the
general elections of 2014. A colleague quipped the other night: “The
only way there can be any more drama in this election is if Congress
manages to persuade Anna Hazare to be their face.” Every day there are
new allegations made by one party against the other. From old cases to
old tweets everything is being raked up. No tactic is being spared. It’s
the national capital at the stake after all.
This election is largely bipolar, with the AAP and the BJP as the main contenders. The Congress has apparently lost all relevance and credibility. This may only prove to be yet another miss in their list of hits and misses wherein the latter have been outnumbering the former with an alarming frequency. One wonders when will the party see the writing on the wall and decide to see off ‘Shri’ Rahul Gandhi. He’s virtually become the albatross around the party’s neck. A pretty albatross though, if that’s any consolation. Suffering from a tainted image and an ineffective top-level leadership, Congress is seeing some of its worst days since the post-Emergency era. Ajay Maken, an accomplsished and experienced leader, will have to bear the brunt of this legacy of incompetence and corruption.
Caught in the crossfire between the AAP and BJP, is the Delhi-voter. Erstwhile comrades-in-arms from the IAC movement have now literally turned (political) foes. Ms Bedi’s entry into BJP should not have come as a surprise for the people who have been watching her behaviour closely. She’s been singing in an altered key ever since the BJP launched its electoral campaign for the general elections last year. This new development has added a new flavour to the first major electoral battle of 2015, all the same. Mr Kejriwal also has returned with a flourish. The Muffler-man is not afraid to take on anyone from the industrial big-wigs to the political ones.
An average Delhite’s allegiance stands divided, especially the young voter’s. There are a lot of similarities between Mr Kerjriwal and Ms Bedi: both are known for their derring-do, radicalism and integrity. Both of them have an air of earthy charm about them. Both of them are a fresh change from the old faces you see in the political galleries of Delhi— new-gen politicians they are being called.
Though the BJP must have anticipated this move to be a highly potent one, the BJP is indeed diffident and that can be gauged from the desperate, last-minute measures it is resorting to. Internal factionalism is a major challenge that the Delhi BJP faces from within. The Vijay Goel- Harshvardhan episode has replayed, only with Dr Harshvardhan being at the receiving end of the last-minute jettisoning this time. Notwithstanding the admiration and respect one has for Ms Kiran Bedi, one cannot overlook her political posturing. She looks patently uncomfortable when quizzed on the Hindutva-based ideology of the Sangh Parivaar.
Mr Arivind Kejriwal comes with his own set of blunders and histrionics. The adulation and ground swell that the AAP enjoyed the last time round has to some degree worn off. They have had their own share of factions and defections to deal with. Fighting against Mr Modi in Varanasi in the general elections was seen by some, including myself, as an over-reach and a rather reckless step. One clearly saw political amateurism and imprudence rife in the AAP’s conduct throughout the last year.
Yet there are some fairly credible reasons why one might want to give the AAP yet another chance. The survival of AAP, if not its victory, is critical for Indian polity. Parties such as the AAP and what they represent are indispensible for keeping the hubris of the ruling party at the center in check. One doesn’t want the same complacency and arrogance to seep into the NDA as it did in the UPA. The UPA made the blunder of taking the people and their confidence for granted. They thrived on the notion that the country has no other sustainable alternative—and that proved to be the cause of their doom. All said and done, one cannot take away from the AAP, and its leader, the credit of embodying the spirit of what he claims to represent—the common man. And thus the clash between the AAP and the other two behemoths essentially represents the struggle between the system and the common man. The fight, thus, is also in some way more symbolic than political.
This is not a new phenomenon. In a not so distant past a similar battle had ensued in the state of Bengal, between the Left and TMC. In its present avatar, the only challenge BJP faces is from regional parties. The BJP has everything going in its favour. It had the nation-wide anti-Congress sentiment to ride on. It had a large cultural machinery working diligently for it and with it. It had a charismatic leader in front of whom the former Prime Minister Dr Singh and the Congress-touted-PM-prospect ‘Shri’ Rahul Gandhi paled miserably. And there was the modern-day Chanakya in form of the master planner Amit Shah. Thus the way the tide has turned in favour of the BJP nationally, leaves it fearfully vulnerable to hubris.
This hubris being referred to should not be taken lightly. It was the same hubris of the Congress party, which had taken the shape of “Modi can sell chai at our rallies” remark that had cost them dearly. That fight too was symbolic: a chai-wala against the privileged dynasty. However, Mr Modi is not the underestimated chai-wala any more. He is the Prime Minister. The fight in Delhi again is symbolic: muffler-man against the Prime Minister. The desire to crush the arrogance was so strong that it may have tilted a certain class of voters toward the BJP, despite the voter not identifying with the cultural/religious agenda that the BJP seems to espouse. The rise of Mr Kejriwal, if at all it happens, will mirror that of Mr Modi.
Nevertheless, the AAP must exercise utmost caution. Going back the TMC-AAP analogy: one major reservation that a voter may have against AAP is its persistent, and at times annoyingly so, anti-establishment paradigm. One does not want Delhi to become a political battleground constantly. The state-centre harmony becomes peculiarly important in case of Delhi. In other words, people fear that Mr Kejriwal may turn out to be Delhi’s Mamta Banerjee.
While Mamta Di’s belligerence is something that Mr Kejriwal might want to avoid, there is indeed one leaf out of the TMC book that Mr Kejriwal should definitely take. Kejriwal should concentrate only on Delhi. He should not think of repeating the Varanasi fiasco till at least after one full term, or even two. Mr Modi himself served three terms. The AAP will continue hold relevance so long as it continues to be a Delhi-centric party, at least in its formative years. Their policies and style of functioning are small-scale. While they may work in Delhi, on a broader and a more diverse canvas they may not work.
Mr Kejriwal will have to come terms with certain realities that constrain any governing body. He will have to move away from the Manichean view of the world he has, or he projects to have.
Ms Bedi is an effective administrator and a woman of credibility and substance. Her investiture as the chief minister would mean a stable government which would be in accord with the central government, and, one hopes, corruption-free too. With oodles of energy and a (well-nigh) clean past, she seems to promise to bring the highly pragmatic and futuristic style of functioning to the CMO that Mr Modi has brought to the PMO. Kejriwal’s investiture would reinforce people’s faith in the power of the common man. People still cannot delete the memories of watching Anil Kapoor’s Nayak and fancying it turning into a reality someday. They still get won over by his unassuming persona and earthy charm. Far from being the shrewd, manipulative anarchist with no shred of sanity that his critics portray him to be, in his interviews he comes across as an amiable, witty and well-meaning fellow with ready answers for all the “how-will-you” questions posed to him. Here’s a party which is taking on formidable opponents with out any religious/industrial support system.
Regardless of who wins, the Delhi voter can draw consolation from the fact that there will be an impressive and strong opposition leader in the Assembly and that the political developments in Delhi will only become more and more interesting from here on.
This election is largely bipolar, with the AAP and the BJP as the main contenders. The Congress has apparently lost all relevance and credibility. This may only prove to be yet another miss in their list of hits and misses wherein the latter have been outnumbering the former with an alarming frequency. One wonders when will the party see the writing on the wall and decide to see off ‘Shri’ Rahul Gandhi. He’s virtually become the albatross around the party’s neck. A pretty albatross though, if that’s any consolation. Suffering from a tainted image and an ineffective top-level leadership, Congress is seeing some of its worst days since the post-Emergency era. Ajay Maken, an accomplsished and experienced leader, will have to bear the brunt of this legacy of incompetence and corruption.
Caught in the crossfire between the AAP and BJP, is the Delhi-voter. Erstwhile comrades-in-arms from the IAC movement have now literally turned (political) foes. Ms Bedi’s entry into BJP should not have come as a surprise for the people who have been watching her behaviour closely. She’s been singing in an altered key ever since the BJP launched its electoral campaign for the general elections last year. This new development has added a new flavour to the first major electoral battle of 2015, all the same. Mr Kejriwal also has returned with a flourish. The Muffler-man is not afraid to take on anyone from the industrial big-wigs to the political ones.
An average Delhite’s allegiance stands divided, especially the young voter’s. There are a lot of similarities between Mr Kerjriwal and Ms Bedi: both are known for their derring-do, radicalism and integrity. Both of them have an air of earthy charm about them. Both of them are a fresh change from the old faces you see in the political galleries of Delhi— new-gen politicians they are being called.
Though the BJP must have anticipated this move to be a highly potent one, the BJP is indeed diffident and that can be gauged from the desperate, last-minute measures it is resorting to. Internal factionalism is a major challenge that the Delhi BJP faces from within. The Vijay Goel- Harshvardhan episode has replayed, only with Dr Harshvardhan being at the receiving end of the last-minute jettisoning this time. Notwithstanding the admiration and respect one has for Ms Kiran Bedi, one cannot overlook her political posturing. She looks patently uncomfortable when quizzed on the Hindutva-based ideology of the Sangh Parivaar.
Mr Arivind Kejriwal comes with his own set of blunders and histrionics. The adulation and ground swell that the AAP enjoyed the last time round has to some degree worn off. They have had their own share of factions and defections to deal with. Fighting against Mr Modi in Varanasi in the general elections was seen by some, including myself, as an over-reach and a rather reckless step. One clearly saw political amateurism and imprudence rife in the AAP’s conduct throughout the last year.
Yet there are some fairly credible reasons why one might want to give the AAP yet another chance. The survival of AAP, if not its victory, is critical for Indian polity. Parties such as the AAP and what they represent are indispensible for keeping the hubris of the ruling party at the center in check. One doesn’t want the same complacency and arrogance to seep into the NDA as it did in the UPA. The UPA made the blunder of taking the people and their confidence for granted. They thrived on the notion that the country has no other sustainable alternative—and that proved to be the cause of their doom. All said and done, one cannot take away from the AAP, and its leader, the credit of embodying the spirit of what he claims to represent—the common man. And thus the clash between the AAP and the other two behemoths essentially represents the struggle between the system and the common man. The fight, thus, is also in some way more symbolic than political.
This is not a new phenomenon. In a not so distant past a similar battle had ensued in the state of Bengal, between the Left and TMC. In its present avatar, the only challenge BJP faces is from regional parties. The BJP has everything going in its favour. It had the nation-wide anti-Congress sentiment to ride on. It had a large cultural machinery working diligently for it and with it. It had a charismatic leader in front of whom the former Prime Minister Dr Singh and the Congress-touted-PM-prospect ‘Shri’ Rahul Gandhi paled miserably. And there was the modern-day Chanakya in form of the master planner Amit Shah. Thus the way the tide has turned in favour of the BJP nationally, leaves it fearfully vulnerable to hubris.
This hubris being referred to should not be taken lightly. It was the same hubris of the Congress party, which had taken the shape of “Modi can sell chai at our rallies” remark that had cost them dearly. That fight too was symbolic: a chai-wala against the privileged dynasty. However, Mr Modi is not the underestimated chai-wala any more. He is the Prime Minister. The fight in Delhi again is symbolic: muffler-man against the Prime Minister. The desire to crush the arrogance was so strong that it may have tilted a certain class of voters toward the BJP, despite the voter not identifying with the cultural/religious agenda that the BJP seems to espouse. The rise of Mr Kejriwal, if at all it happens, will mirror that of Mr Modi.
Nevertheless, the AAP must exercise utmost caution. Going back the TMC-AAP analogy: one major reservation that a voter may have against AAP is its persistent, and at times annoyingly so, anti-establishment paradigm. One does not want Delhi to become a political battleground constantly. The state-centre harmony becomes peculiarly important in case of Delhi. In other words, people fear that Mr Kejriwal may turn out to be Delhi’s Mamta Banerjee.
While Mamta Di’s belligerence is something that Mr Kejriwal might want to avoid, there is indeed one leaf out of the TMC book that Mr Kejriwal should definitely take. Kejriwal should concentrate only on Delhi. He should not think of repeating the Varanasi fiasco till at least after one full term, or even two. Mr Modi himself served three terms. The AAP will continue hold relevance so long as it continues to be a Delhi-centric party, at least in its formative years. Their policies and style of functioning are small-scale. While they may work in Delhi, on a broader and a more diverse canvas they may not work.
Mr Kejriwal will have to come terms with certain realities that constrain any governing body. He will have to move away from the Manichean view of the world he has, or he projects to have.
Ms Bedi is an effective administrator and a woman of credibility and substance. Her investiture as the chief minister would mean a stable government which would be in accord with the central government, and, one hopes, corruption-free too. With oodles of energy and a (well-nigh) clean past, she seems to promise to bring the highly pragmatic and futuristic style of functioning to the CMO that Mr Modi has brought to the PMO. Kejriwal’s investiture would reinforce people’s faith in the power of the common man. People still cannot delete the memories of watching Anil Kapoor’s Nayak and fancying it turning into a reality someday. They still get won over by his unassuming persona and earthy charm. Far from being the shrewd, manipulative anarchist with no shred of sanity that his critics portray him to be, in his interviews he comes across as an amiable, witty and well-meaning fellow with ready answers for all the “how-will-you” questions posed to him. Here’s a party which is taking on formidable opponents with out any religious/industrial support system.
Regardless of who wins, the Delhi voter can draw consolation from the fact that there will be an impressive and strong opposition leader in the Assembly and that the political developments in Delhi will only become more and more interesting from here on.
