He started his political career cautiously with a well-planned
long term strategy. We get that as IITians are used to achieve such a feat
early in their career. To everyone’s amazement he was able to implement it very
well. During the peak of his crusade riot, he was undoubtedly coronated as the
third alternative to politics’ tag. Thousands of frustrated Indians added
themselves to his fan base at that time and gradually started accepting his
ideas and allegations as gospel truth. We can’t blame them for their
misjudgement, firstly because, Mr Kejriwal played his cards brilliantly in an ingenious
manner and secondly, as the common man was fed up with the corrupt, dynastic, caste and a communal politics and found in him someone whom they could related to
mainly because he is (was) a common man himself, tired of the trite politics
played in our country. Even an innocuous child can figure out that the
intentions he portrayed were for the good. The masses who voted in his favour
were proud to see him as the face of their state when he was voted to power. People
started treating him as a demi god, a messiah who came from nowhere with a
strong untenable intention to clean the Indian political system and bring the
power to the people. They would fondly
publicise and promote his judgements and allegations. But gradually his motives
faltered, his intentions misaligned, his decisions’ irrevocably misplaced in
the national scenario. Be it practising
vigilante justice or tarnishing the diplomatic relations with another country
or the dharnas carried out near the republic day arrangements or calling
himself an anarchist or stepping down as the CM of Delhi portraying himself as
a martyr. With every such breaking news it was an uphill task for his followers
to justify his decisions in public. The hero whom they used to worship and
accept everything he said as gospel had a hard time trying to justify their
choice. I remember a senior journalist who joined the party trying to justify
Mr Kejriwal calling himself an anarchist by quoting the definitions from the
Oxford dictionary on national television. By stepping down as the CM of Delhi
by masking the Jan Lokpal issue he ingeniously made his way forward with the
national leadership role. But he overplayed his cards it seems as by cheating
the people of Delhi he just cannot find himself at the national stage. He
actually used the Delhi elections as a profile boost to get a favourable
opinion on the national scenario. That’s a big risk he took, as the citizens of
Delhi won’t forgive him for that.
It is difficult to imagine Mr Kejriwal taking the national
centre stage considering the tasks they need to work on as the party is
inexperienced. Understanding international issues and dealing with the
diplomatic relations with other countries are extremely sensitive issues and
require experience. Practising vigilante justice at national level is just not
in sync with today’s time.
