Despite incessant attacks and two arrests that practically put him out of action, Arvind Kejriwal has stumped the Bharatiya Janata Party once again. By resigning from his position as Delhi chief minister immediately after being granted bail with conditions that placed restrictions on his administrative powers, the Aam Aadmi Party chief has put his astute political reflexes on full display.
His move came as the BJP had been leading a concerted, all round, campaign to label his government as “kattar beyimaan” (extremely corrupt) – a phrase coined by the BJP to aim at Kejriwal’s own brand appeal as “kattar imaandaar” (extremely honest).
The jailing of senior leaders and ministers, followed by Kejriwal’s own arrest, and a constant power tussle between the Delhi government and the L-G, had practically paralysed the AAP government. Amidst a leadership crisis in the absence of Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, worsened by its Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal’s saffron turn, the AAP government also appeared to struggle against a growing negative perception amongst the public, which has been torn between a powerless state government and an authoritarian Centre over the last few years.
Kejriwal’s decision to resign and offer his position to the spirited, young Atishi, who – along with Saurabh Bharadwaj – had played a crucial role in leading the AAP in the absence of senior leaders, has now put the BJP in a fix. At once, Kejriwal has set the political agenda for the assembly elections which are due early next year, while also puncturing the BJP’s narrative.
The BJP’s campaign in Kejriwal’s absence had veered around two crucial allegations against the AAP government. One, that the it had been the most corrupt of all governments of Delhi, an accusation that it could not substantiate beyond citing the arrest of its senior leaders by Union government-controlled investigative agencies, whose conduct and probes are under the scanner for their alleged political partisanship. Two, the BJP spokespersons made it a point to hammer the point that Kejriwal was making space for his wife Sunita Kejriwal to take over his role in the party.
By appointing Atishi, a leader who has earned her position as a natural successor, Kejriwal has not only reinforced his original USP as an honest and self-sacrificing Gandhian but has also energised Delhi’s lacklustre political mood by signalling that AAP remained a party which rewards political conviction and merit. He timed his resignation skilfully too, as any such decision at an earlier stage when he was in prison could have emboldened the BJP in its aggressive campaign against the AAP and stripped him of the moral high ground that he has attained now.
In choosing Atishi to lead the Delhi government, Kejriwal will also likely consolidate a constituency which had helped Sheila Dixit become the longest-serving chief minister of the national capital. The nomination of Atishi, considered the brains behind the Delhi government’s initiatives to restructure and reform the public school system in Delhi, has also given AAP another opportunity to foreground discussions on education and health sector reforms in the national capital. Those were the foundations upon which the party came to power for two successive terms but were pushed to the background as it grappled with allegations of corruption in its excise policy.
In one strategic move, Kejriwal has reclaimed the limelight once again. The BJP under Narendra Modi has successfully drawn an effective political narrative against the Congress, but has often been found wanting to tackle Kejriwal and the AAP’s quick retorts and repartee. Shorn of its effectiveness against AAP, it finally had to marshal government agencies to force the party into submission.
Thanks to AAP’s second line of leadership consisting of faces like Atishi, Saurabh Bharadwaj, and even Sanjay Singh, it could still dodge the BJP’s bullet by quickly changing tack. It picked its battles tactfully, entered into electoral alliances with non-BJP parties, sought support from civil society, and became an integral part of an anti-BJP front.
It was a marked change for a party that liked to be seen as an “outsider” in the political stage and had begun as a crusader against corruption, and positioned itself as an adversarial force against all existing political parties irrespective of their ideological inclinations.
Ever since it was formed, the BJP has battled with AAP in occupying the place of the chief “disruptor”. Against such a backdrop, AAP has faced greater attacks than even the Congress by the BJP political machinery. Yet, Kejriwal has displayed the tenacity to take on all such attacks with a rare resilience. He first showed his political mettle with two comprehensive wins in Delhi against the BJP’s formidable election machinery. At the same time, he has expanded his party to Punjab and some other states like Gujarat and Goa where it has emerged as one of the primary political players.
From here on, as Delhi enters its electoral season, Kejriwal will surely have an advantage over his opposition. He has already set in motion a political narrative that will only have his opposition responding to it. In the meantime, he will consolidate his party on the ground, campaigning extensively, and dictating the party’s moves and countermoves. The AAP chief, in his new avatar as a person who understands the significance of political alliances, is here to stay. There can’t be any doubt about it.
This piece was first published on The India Cable – a premium newsletter from The Wire & Galileo Ideas – and has been updated and republished here. To subscribe to The India Cable, click here.
