Another brick in the wall

Hero worshiping and myth building are historically intrinsic to Indian psyche. And much of the air-thumping in Delhi is part of a pattern. That the people so joyously are soaking themselves in the opium of delusion is also quite normal and those having a taste of history know it well. 

Those who suffer from the disease called "short memory" may just recall a "hawai-chappal" and cotton

sari wearing woman in Mamata Banerjee uprooting and trampling over the more than three decades of the Left rule in West Bengal not long ago. She and the people of West Bengal had made history then.

Banerjee took just a little over a couple of years after the Nandigram killings to lay the graveyard of the Left rule led by the CPI (M). She rode on the slogan of "Ma, Mati, Manush". That the urban intelligentsia now seeks to distance themselves from her, who holds on to power with her strength in rural Bengal, is another story.   

Arvind Kejriwal, an NGO wallah before April 2011, head-hunted Anna Hazare to give legitimacy to the Jan Lokpal Bill, drafted by him in cohort with the ultra-judiciary activist Prashant Bushan. And the Gandhian did not disappoint the former tax officer and parted ways with him but before that he gifted the self-stated angry man the key to power in Delhi.

Kejriwal is now sworn in as chief minister and among others he has also taken oath not to be vindictive (maen kisi dwesh ke bhavana se kaam nahi karunga). This makes him quite a hypocrite, for he has been trumpeting that he would send the Congress ministers to jail. His sound bytes since December 8 have been sliced with vindictiveness only.

The lens of hypocrisy has not yet been applied on Kejriwal in any serious manner. About a year back, he began admitting with journalists, including this blogger, that Anna Hazare had been managed by the Congress. But for public consumption he has created a facade that he still worships Anna and that those close to the Gandhian have made a wall for him to block him directly connecting with him. He invites the accusation of being a hypocrite for being untruthful about his relations with Anna Hazare. 

Neither Anna is Mahatma Gandhi nor Kejriwal is a Nehru, as the social media paid volunteers of Aam Aadi Party would like emotional Delhi'ites to believe. 

Those who are blessed with good memory may recall that a couple of days after the people in Delhi had voted, Hazare in his presser reiterated that he had not been convinced by the explanation given by Kejriwal about the funds raised in his name. Anna also maintained that he could be dragged to court because of Kejriwal, who without his authorization sold SIM Card Scheme in his name. That was just four days before the Delhi verdict became known. And Anna had also shot a letter in which he made quite a lot of veiled accusations of financial impropriety to Kejriwal.

So, the man who gives certificate of being corrupt to others has not been able to convince Hazare on funds collected in his name. But Kejriwal, who is apparently that marketing wizard who has sold combs to bald men, has been treated by media with kid-gloves. That would be quite a generous understatement, as media was the biggest campaigner for Kejriwal and his party. In fact, editors of TV channels took pride to spend a few hours at Jantar Mantar during Anna agitation and to share later that they had had feelings of Tahrir Square in the narrow strip on the Parliament street. One of them wrote a book, with judgments that Anna was another Gandhi.

In those days, it was India Against Corruption (IAC) and there was a core committee, which included a lot of men, including Kejriwal. One of them has a few questions but is apparently shy to come into public.

His questions is very simple: Where did the money come from to publish Kejriwal's book "Swaraj".

One more question deserves to be added. And that is this -- if Swaraj was printed to be sold at Rs 25 a copy, with the motive of spreading the idea of self-rule, why is it now priced at Rs 150 (English paper book), Rs 100 (Hindi) and Rs 53 (e-book). So, now the social cause has been overtaken by the idea of commercial profit. And if that's so, it's more important to find out the source of fund used in publishing the book. 

But more important is to challenge the ideas to which Kejriwal is sworn to. That a very few have been doing is disturbing. 

Let's rewind to October 2011. One fine afternoon, Kejriwal took the microphone at Jantar Mantar and in his trademark fashion asked the crowd to raise their hands if they agreed to his accusations of about 16 Union ministers being corrupt. He was jury, investigating officer and prosecutor too. And what were the evidences Kejriwal submitted to brand 16 ministers corrupt -- Newspaper clippings. 

The crowd, consisting of 200 people, raised their hands and these ministers were pronounced corrupt. The idea of debate is not whether they are corrupt or honest but the manner to institutionalize crowd. This is not only dangerous but suggests heavy ideological leaning to Maoist thought processes. Even the Taliban could seek brotherhood from them. 

And it's also true that if Maoists opt to fight elections they will win Bastar, which is big enough to be a state, effortlessly.

People in Delhi are eating out of the hands of the handful leaders of AAP. They easily subscribe to their claims of newness in politics and a new approach to governance. Not much of critical faculty appears to have been employed to question these claims.

Seven hundred liters of water free for each family in Delhi! Yes, you have heard it many times to have become dumb to it by now. Is it a novel idea? No, just look at Tamil Nadu and check with the perfectionists (DMK and AIADMK) of this art. Mr Kejriwal, you are treading on quite a beaten track. 

And why should half the population of Delhi, who are quite rich and use 500 liters of water a day to clean their cars, should get it free. And that too when Delhi has no source of water and half the year is at the mercy of Haryana to get it. Why should the people of Uttar Pradesh part with water to let Delhi'ites waste it.

Next -- will regularize unauthorized colonies in six months! Had it been so easy Sheila Dikshit would have done it much earlier. How can you have a regular and legal colony where fire tenders can't enter, where ambulances can't reach in quick time, where there is no space for hospitals, schools and dispensaries and playground, if you think that kids need to play in the evening. Can Kejriwal make people in these colonies demolish their houses to create a minimum 20 per cent free space?      

The manifesto that Kejriwal authored is a recipe for misgovernance and irresponsible politics. In fact, the time has come for the Election Commission to ban such freebies, as they are nothing but open bribery to voters. 

But, yes, the 15 years long rule of the Congress had been akin to a piece of paper burning slowly. And in the end it was a burnt, black paper, which needed just a shove to turn into ash. That's no more a warning to the Congress and rather it's an affirmation that this party has lost another state to a regional party, as had been the case in Bihar, UP, West Bengal.

The BJP had been dismissive about the AAP and woke up quite late to name Dr Harsh Vardhan as chief ministerial candidate. The party, which had given Delhi its first Aam Aadmi as CM in Saheb Singh Verma, has been too defensive. No game can be won if no risk is taken, that the BJP should know and its Delhi leaders would do a world of good to themselves to start believing that they understand the city better than their colleagues in the Central BJP.

A lot of drama has taken place in Delhi since April 2011 and rightly the city has a lot of theaters near Mandi Chowk, including that of the National School of Drama.   

But the biggest challenge that India is now faced is the prospect of the country becoming a nation of litigation and litigants. That the judicial activism has enriched the civilian rights is well-known. But the attempt to establish superiority of judiciary over democracy is a dangerous recipe that the likes of Prashant Bhushan and Kejriwal are proposing.

Ironically, it's democracy that allowed the people living and working out of Ghaziabad in UP to win over Delhi. But the same democracy faces encroachments by a super-judicial bureaucracy, given legitimacy by mob driven leaders.  

However, the legal warriors are underestimating the power of democracy. And for that matter the historic Gettysburg speech should be recalled, which gave the concept of democracy, which has only gained in strength all these years.  

Amid the raging civil war in the America, it's said that Abraham Lincoln had locked

himself in a library for about three weeks. Emerging out of it, he gave the famous Gettysburg address, which lasted two and a half minutes. There he explained the underlying principle of democracy, that it's "for the people, by the people and of the people". 

The power of the people may be underestimated by activists at their own peril, as the blows do come and come very swiftly. 

The gust

"Kitna vote se jeete (by how much votes they won)," asked a man sitting on stairs leading to Hanuman temple near Connaught Place. After giving him a short reply, we hurried past, only to stop to ask ourselves, who the man was. Running back to him, I asked for his name. "Gulshan," he said. "I sit here during day and evening, and sleep in a nearby hospital," he added. Next, I asked "did you vote" to which he said "no, don't have vote". 

He was a beggar. And he was asking about the performance of Aam Admi Party (AAP). 

Quite admittedly, we were shell-shocked. A beggar was curious to know the electoral fate of Arvind Kejriwal's AAP. Looking closely, Gulshan's eyes were yellow. He was wrapped in a torn quilt. There was no hope for life in his eyes. He was one of thousands who eke out their livings at Hanuman temple on the largess of devotees. 

Dance and drum at AAP office

The thought wave went fast back in past and recalled reporting Sheila Dikshit led Delhi government's determined efforts to make the national capital beggar free. That was in the run up to the Commonwealth Games. Then she even wanted to make Delhi a digital city. Also, Delhi a smoking free city. And so many others, all ideas borrowed from European countries, Hong Kong and Singapore. None materialized but left many thinking Dikshit as an apathetic leader.    

In her efforts to make Delhi a world class city, Dikshit forgot that a lot of people lived in the national capital, who were struggling to make their ends meet. And most of them were least bothered about Europe, Hong Kong and Singapore.   

And a lot of youth and women were least bothered about the garland of flyovers too. Because, the man who gave them to Delhi -- Ashok Kumar Walia (a doctor and a bachelor) -- was humbled by a rookie AAP greenhorn Vinod Kumar Binni from Luxmi Nagar Assembly seat. 

Dr Walia was hurt, for his people in the constituency were all that he had in his life. So, he shut in a room for three hours and was seen with tears led swollen eyes by his close aides.

On the way to Hanuman temple, the Connaught Circus was full of broom held by people, who looked hailing from the lower income groups. "These are all BSP men and women," I could not resist quipping. The BSP had polled 14 per cent votes in 2008 Delhi elections and five years later the rank and cadre were swept away by the Kejriwal magic. 

The broom that swept away the Congress in Delhi.

Clearly, a hell lot of people sensed that they did not figure in the scheme of things of Dikshit and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Price rise had finally broken all the prides of the middle and lower middle class.

But the Congress' slide from 43 seats to eight is quite a journey worth examination. As it appears, only the Muslims were unimpressed with Kejriwal's broom. So, not only JD (U)'s floater Shoib Iqbal but four Muslim candidates of the Congress too won. 

The Mughal Shah Alam's empire had famously shrunken from Chandni Chowl to Palam in the freezing winter of the dynasty founded by Babur and spread by Akbar. Dikshit, despite enjoying popular support, had shrunken her Delhi to the Lutyen's zone. And it was there that she tried to work her developments.

Shah Alam had seen a gust of Afghan and Maratha invaders in his shrunken Delhi. History revisits many a times, and, later we will know if Dikshit was the last Congress leader to rule Delhi.  

If not for Narendra Modi, Kejriwal would have been sworn in as the chief minister of Delhi. Undoubtedly, Modi blocked the Kejriwal gust to throw the BJP too with the Congress into the political abyss.  

Arguably, the Sunday gust intoxicated the Kejriwal gang. And, on the day of the people's mandate, they began talking of another elections. In their verbal jugglery, they had dished out sweeping comments and generalizations. To bow before the people's mandate is the duty of all political parties and rejecting the mandate by seeking another elections amounts to doubt people's will.   

Is it a French monarchy/. From the window, Kumar Viswas tells crowd updates and then shuts.

In a few days from now the magical debut of AAP in electoral politics will be researched word over. There are hardly any parallel. In 1980s, N T Rama Rao decimated the Congress in just six months. But then he was a popular film star and had cult following. There is no other parallel anywhere in the world. 

But take away Kejriwal, will AAP have any future. None, I guess. AAP is least a political party and more of a carry over of gust released by the powerful lungs of Anna Hazare. Alas, Hazare is a lonely man today. But life is like that. Ideas outgrow minds who birth them. Kejriwal is an idea, which was seeded by Anna, and nourished by anger of teeming millions of people. 

The gust by nature is short-lived. And that's the challenge before Kejriwal. He may recall W B Yeats' those lovely words: "I have spread my dreams under your feet, tread softly because you tread on my dreams".  

New Delhi spring

Former Income Tax officer Arvind Kejriwal must have seen with wide eyes the 2004 Mani Ratnam flick Yuva. The Ajay Devgan starrer was high on idea and inspiration. Even the most politically fortified state could allow intoxicated youth to put their feet on the doorway and Kejriwal took the screen fantasy to ground in Delhi in quite earnest. That his fate would be known on December 8 is not so important, as he has been able to open up Delhi's bipolar politics already. 

The 2012 was a year of spring and the jasmine flavour swept through the Arab world, first taking flight

from Tunisia, a country of olive oil. Tahrir Square happened a little afterwards. Soon, Kejriwal began pleading at Jantar Mantar with media, with Anna Hazare on the day one of his iconic fast for Jan Lokpal, for coverage. "It's not a Tahrir Square but a movement in the making," he would plead then. Later, crowd gave him enough "high" to take off into the world of politics.

Anna movement had assured Kejriwal, that crowd and money in India could come easily and he just had to keep banging the well fortified political wall. He was right. Money flowed and with that people too, many convinced that this was the man for the change of the system.

But he probably did not watch Yuva too closely. There the Devgan led former student politicians had made entry into the state Assembly in a small way. Just a few of them were there. And here Kejriwal tells each office-goers in their cars through the FM, that he would be forming a government in Delhi with 47 seats. His ambition has taken a fantasy flight. But politics, historically, has been very harsh to dreamers. 

In Andhra Pradesh, a former Babu Jai Prakash Narayan had formed Lok Satta party and wanted to change the system. He contested all the Assembly seats in AP. In the end, his party won one seat and that was him only. Union minister Jairam Ramesh recalls Andhra too had witnessed a similar sympathy wave for Narayan. But politics turned out to be too harsh for his flight of dream.

Nonetheless, Kejriwal should be happy that it was none other than the BJP's PM candidate Narendra Modi who had to focus on Aam Admi Party in his speeches. From an NGO man, Kejriwal is a politician and making his presence felt. 

The BJP should in fact thank him for committing another suicide by not going ahead with Vijay Goel as it face. That Dr Harsh Vardhan had to be named as BJP's CM candidate is Kejriwal's significant contribution.  

Furthermore, Kejriwal has thrown up ideas, taken from his book Swaraj, for local manifesto and they have all been grabbed by the BJP. Even the Congress is gearing up to come up with state specific manifesto in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.   

Delhi has been the political capital even before Babur discovered India. The pulse of Indian politic is easily felt in Delhi. From the capture of Delhi by Muslims first to the British rule to the last 67 years of post-Independence India, the national capital has shown the way to the trend across the country.

This was evident in 2008 when Sheila Dikshit was pleasantly shocked to know that she had been re-elected third time despite the back-breaking price rise even then. That was Manmohan Singh undercurrent, not seen till then, which came out in full force in 2004 Lok Sabha elections. 

But not all are blessed with the sense of time and Manmohan Singh is the last to leave the seat of power under any circumstances. Had he retired in 2004, he would have been the most successful Prime Minister of India. But this was not to happen and in the next five years he took dive into the mud. And now the feet of the Congress is stuck in the mud collected all these five years.

The sense of resignation among the Congress leaders in Delhi is hard to be ignored. The fatigue in the campaign is too visible. Sheila Dikshit looks tired. The impregnable forte of the Congress in Delhi awaits December 8 verdict with dread. And hence there are no new ideas from Congress in Delhi but only a promise for continuation of the past and that makes people more dreadful.

In contrast, Sheila Dikshit had come out with magical ideas in 2008 -- regularization of unauthorized

colonies, home to one-third of Delhi's population, and five lakh flats for the poor at Rs 50,000 each only. The people lapped those ideas and left the BJP looking a fool with an old man V K Malhotra as the challenger.

Now the ideas are coming from Dr Harsh Vardhan and coming in plenty. Those ideas are taking wings with the big crowd puller Modi. And finally, the price rise appears becoming an election issue. 

Though Kejriwal is seen hurting the BJP by cutting into the negative vote base, trend in the last decade has been of decisive mandates, with Uttarakhand being the only exception. This began from Bihar and spread to Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal and other states. Therefore, Delhi heading for a fractured mandate would be against the established trend.

If the Congress loses Delhi, the grand old party would be shaken. And that would also confirm that the change is in the air -- a much awaited one.