Arvind Kejriwal is one politician who neither carries any ideological baggage, nor does he have has any pretensions about having such an inclination either. AAP was a counter-revolution. It was a revolt against the status quo, and votes for AAP were nothing but a wholesale rejection of established parties. Voters were fed up with the age-old establishment and wanted to teach them a lesson. Therefore, they chose AAP. But, in the last few years, AAP, instead of changing the status quo, has allowed itself to be co-opted and become a part of the establishment.
His latest transgression — that if AAP wins the Delhi assembly elections, then his government will fork out Rs 18000 per month as salary to all Hindu priests and pujaris and also to Sikh granthis — is another strand of his Machiavellian politics, the be all and end all of which is to win the election by any means. I dare not say Kejriwal is communal, but his act is blatantly communal. This is a religious card to project himself as a Hindu leader and to secure Hindu votes in assembly elections. He has also said that he will start the registration process at Hanuman temple in Connaught Place on 31 December.
By an uncanny coincidence, this announcement came just when imams of Delhi were on the warpath as they had not been given any salary for the last seventeen months. This time, Kejriwal is fighting the toughest battle of his life. His government is facing almost 11 years of anti-incumbency and serious corruption charges. He himself was jailed for five months along with his senior colleagues Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh and Satyendra Jain. Along with the liquor scam, the Sheesh Mahal controversy has also tarnished his image as an honest leader. And honesty is no longer the hallmark of his MLAs.
He is also aware that because of his indifferent attitude during riots and later towards riot victims in North East Delhi, Muslim voters, who comprise almost 12.87% of Delhi’s population, are not going to vote for AAP. Congress will be Muslim’s preferred choice. Dalits might also slip out of AAP’s grasp due to Rahul Gandhi’s Save the Constitution campaign. Dalits are 16.75% in the national capital. AAP’s demand that Baba Saheb Ambedkar should get Bharat Ratna is aimed at enticing the Dalit voters. Given the constraints, AAP has no option but to present itself as a Hindu party. But the gimmick goes against the basic grain of AAP.
This was the party that took great pride in fielding Shazia Ilmi from a Hindu-dominated constituency of R K Puram in the 2013 assembly election. In that election AAP surprised everyone by winning 28 seats with 29.5% votes. AAP had then come as a whiff of fresh air. But, now, AAP is like any other political party. In fact, it would be apt to say that it is worse than others, as the latter at least claim to have some ideology to peddle about. Kejriwal started as a public figure by swearing to stand by secularism and claiming to be a devout follower of Gandhi. But secularism is no longer his calling card, and winning an election is the overwhelming concern. He may hope to secure Hindu votes by this stratagem, but if people have to choose between an original Hindu party or a copycat, then their choice will be obvious.
