Victim politics, more than Modi factor, brings Arvind Kejriwal and AAP down
did achieve moderate success in bringing health centres — called mohalla clinics -- to people’s doorsteps, as also in giving free water to a section of voters and in reducing power bills marginally; in fact, down to zero for some households.
But he took populism to another level in these MCD polls, even promising to abolish house tax. Some people might have welcomed it with a sigh: if only the government of Delhi had the powers to, say, abolish income tax. That’s where the line started blurring between the AAP, symbol of alternative politics, and old, establishment parties; between Kejriwal who wielded a broom to cleanse politics and run-of-themill politicians whose dishonesty is supposed to be a given fact.
In the last assembly elections in Varanasi, one often heard tales about ‘Ashwashan Mishra’ -- a Congress candidate who never said no for anything to anyone. Like him and other typical politicians, Kejriwal is never found wanting in giving hopes to people, not modest with claims like eliminating all “mafias” in Delhi, and not very subtle in delivering messages – “Vote for the BJP and be responsible for your children falling prey to chikungunya .... ”
It’s nobody’s argument that all cases registered by the police or the CBI against AAP legislators are based on merits.
But Kejriwal’s and his AAP colleagues’ complaints of political vendetta might evoke only cynicism; after all, Mayawati, Mulayam Singh, Jagan Mohan Reddy, Mamata Banerjee, Virbhadra Singh and the ilk did the same against different regimes at the Centre.
Delhi voters have other things to mind, too. The victim narrative doesn’t work with the electorate. Various surveys suggested that much of Narendra Modi’s personality cult is built around his image as a strong, decisive leader —one who takes the fight to his enemy camp, instead of whimpering about rivals’ manipulations .
Kejriwal projects himself as Modi’s alternative at the national level, but for people to take him seriously as a contender and not a pretender, the Delhi CM has to first make Delhi what Modi made Gujarat — a model for the rest of the country to look up to.