Time change for Arvind Kejariwal : Then and Now

In the past one year, if there is one political party that has sent the entire political spectrum into a tizzy it is undoubtedly the Aam Aadmi Party. With barely a year since its launch, the Arvind Kejriwal-led party is set to take Delhi’s political circles by storm in the upcoming 4 December elections.

While there are still those that are skeptical of the party’s success, almost all election surveys have given the party a thumbs up. Its own survey (the fifth and final one) has predicted a 36 percent vote share, followed by BJP with 27 percent and the incumbent Congress at 26 percent.

But what is it that has got the electorate connecting with AAP? The most significant ‘connecting factor’ that works for the debutant party is its ability to connect with the middle class – in Delhi at least – an important vote bank. Take the New Delhi constituency where Kejriwal will take on incumbent Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit. Over 60 percent of the vote in the constituency is of government officials and their families – the predominant middle class in the country.

Aam Aadmi Party’s convener Arvind Kejriwal is all set to become the youngest chief minister of Delhi. The way to his becoming the CM was paved when the AAP announced on Monday that as per the referendum of the people, they would go ahead and form the next government in Delhi by taking Congress’ support.

In the recently concluded Assembly elections, the BJP emerged as the single largest party with 31 seats while SAD got one seat. The AAP surprised everyone by winning 28 seats in the 70 member House.

The BJP told the LG that it could not prove majority on the floor of the House. Meanwhile, the Congress with its 08 seats offered support to the AAP. The AAP then decided to seek people’s opinion on whether they should go ahead and form the government in Delhi.

Kejriwal addressed the media today and said that the people had voted overwhelmingly in favour of their forming the next government in Delhi.

Now that the new party on the block is all set to assume power in Delhi, lets take a look at the life and times of Arvind Kejriwal.

If a recent Economic Times survey is to be believed, Kejriwal is set to serve Dikshit her worst ever defeat. The survey shows Kejriwal winning more than two times Dikshit’s vote share. “Kejriwal stood to win more than 40 percent of the votes – followed by BJP candidate Vijender Gupta (21 percent) and then Dikshit (20 percent) at third position,” the ET report states. Another important factor that the party believes will work in their favour is the candidates they have chosen to take on Delhi’s bigwigs.

In Old Delhi’s Ballimaran constituency, AAP has fielded Farhana Anjum who will take on Congress’ Haroon Yousuf, a four time MLA from the predominantly Muslim area. “Women, mostly among Muslims must also lead,” she says seeking to fight the stereotype that Muslim women must be ‘reserved’. In Mangolpuri AAP has fileded Rakhi Birlan, a journalist, whose mother is a sweeper employed with the municipality, to take on Congress’ four time MLA Raj Kumar Chauhan.

For Bilan fighting these elections means putting an end to what she calls a pricey ticket phenomenon where development takes a back seat. “You know that for the Congress and BJP you need to have at least Rs 2 – 5 crore to get a ticket… I don’t belong to a crorepati family… I just want to serve my constituency if elected,” she says. “If AAP can rise a person to the skies then AAP can also bring that person back to Earth.

” But will this mass popularity turn into votes for the AAP? Hundreds of AAP volunteers who have even taken sabbaticals to join the movement, believe the party will emerge as a major king-maker in the elections. Meticulous planning right down to the booth level is what they hope will swing votes in their favour. Vishal Hindustani, an AAP volunteer, who is working in Matia Mahal constituency demonstrated it. He said that of the four wards in the constituency, their candidate’s rival has 80 percent support in just one.

Their main focus therefore is on the three other wards. “When we went there, we decided to stratergise around his weak points… whatever his weak points are, we are going to focus on that,” he said. AAP’s political campaigns in the city have also struck a chord with voters in the city. From stickers behind autorickshaws to street plays and banners hanging across flyovers, volunteers from across the country are enthusiastically trying to gain the attention of Delhi’s voters, promising sweeping changes if elected to power.

“People don’t really watch TV any more to see these messages but these stickers behind autos often catch their attention,” says Ram Kirpal, a B Tech engineer who is campaigning for the party. But it’s not as if the party has not faced its share of controversies. A PIL in the Supreme Court had sought an investigation into the foreign funding that the party has received. While Kejriwal has claimed that all the details of contributing funds have been posted on their website, the Congress and the BJP have said the government needs to immediately order a probe into who is funding the party.

Last month, a sting operation carried out by a little known media establishment, claimed to have ‘exposed’ how AAP volunteers would ‘offer their support’ to anyone who offered to fund their party. The party’s ‘internal Lokpal’ dismissed the claim saying the sting was out to malign the party’s image and it had not broadcast the entire truth. With a day left for Delhi to go to polls, will AAP be able to convert the mass support they claim to have into votes? Will their extensive manifesto ensure a landslide victory defeating Delhi’s most popular CM Sheila Dikshit? The answers will be known only on 8 December.

• The 45 year old Arvind Kejriwal is all set to be Delhi’s youngest chief minister. He defeated three-time Congress chief minister Sheila Dikshit from the New Delhi constituency by more than 25,000 votes.
• He was born on August 16, 1968 into a middle class family in a village in Haryana.
• He studied mechanical engineering from IIT-Kharagpur.
• Kejriwal joined the Indian Revenue Service in 1995 but left his job in 2001. He founded the an NGO, Parivartan (Change) and campaigned to bring Right to Information Act in 2005. He won the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2006 for his efforts in the field of RTI.
• But the AAP convener came on the centre-stage and became a national figure in 2011 when he teamed with social activist Anna Hazare to press for the Jan Lokpal Bill.
• Kejriwal also went on a fast along with Anna in his fight against corruption.
• In November 2012, Kejriwal launched the Aam Aadmi Party. That led to his parting ways with Anna, who was against the formation of a political party.
• The AAP’s symbol is the broom and its party workers sport white caps. The party was able to raise 20 crores through donations to fight the Delhi Assembly elections.
• The AAP decided to take the political plunge by fighting the Delhi polls. It won 28 seats in the 70 member House, the counting of votes which was done on December 08.
• Kejriwal said today that the oath-taking ceremony will be held at Ramlila Maidan, the venue of the Lokpal movement.
• Kejriwal’s wife Sunita is an Indian Revenue Service officer. They have two children.

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