Arvind Crazywal?

Arvind  Kejriwal began his political innings with his impressive educational and professional background as an IIT alumni, ex bureaucrat and successful social activist and capping it all with coveted Magsaysay award what considered as Asia’s Nobel Prize.

Arvind strode tall by walking shoulder to shoulder with Anna in the anti corruption agitation at Jantar Mantar, in Delhi. And in the process he caught the imagination of the country and his image as an anti corruption crusader enhanced in the eyes of Indian masses. And aftermath of ‘Jantar Mantar’ he continued to be in the limelight with exposing one or other scams of leading men of Indian politics. His unbound enthusiasm never stopped there, in the run up to the 2014 Delhi elections, with his political outfit, he identified himself with common man of India and became ‘Aam Admy’ .  He rode on popular sentiment and in no time took the opportunity of ensuing Delhi assembly elections and brought his ‘Aam Aadmi Pehchan’ to the forefront.

Aam Admi went gaga with his popular broom symbol and sloganeering and swept the elections with an impressive tally and emerged as the kingmaker. With its show the party raised the aspiration of common man that without the money and muscle power, elections can be won in India and this is an unprecedented in the Indian political history. Never was in the history of Indian politics a debutant performed so spectacularly.

In a quirk of fate, Arvind even occupied the coveted chief minister’s chair of Delhi.  With his dogged perseverance and will power, he made his saga of ‘Aam Admi’ ascending to chief minister seat of Delhi what seems a fairytale, a reality. No mean an achievement indeed.

Despite making all the right noises, he lacked the typical Indian Political Neta’s acumen of how to cling on to power. Perhaps, he could have taken a leaf out of the books of two main political outfits: Congress and BJP and their ways of striking political alliances with their opponents to form the governments even in seemingly impossible situations.

Arvind began with right note of taking on bull by its horns as saying one cannot cleanse the dirt in the system without getting into it.  But he faltered in understanding that power is important element in realizing his vision of “Government of the people, by the people, for the people”.  In the event, he squandered the great opportunity of being in the system, bringing the systemic change and also failed in sustaining the sense of optimism that his electoral success generated in the collective psyche of common man of India.

Arvind occupied once again my mind space this time since Delhi is going for polls in less than a month's time and it is an opportunity for Mr.Kerival to go all out for another hit at the target. But this time he has to fight the elections against his own odds where his own party is in disarray.

Nonetheless, Mr Kejriwal, a solo fighter he is, that he has had shown in his maiden attempt at the stormy Indian political landscape. But this time around he must have learnt a lesson or two in frittering away the lost opportunity. As he is in the doorstep of another political battle, and we wish him all the success in the ensuing hustings but with hope that he would not continue with his crazy ways of confusing “Aam Admi” whether he is Arvind Kejriwal or Arvind Crazywal!.