Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal has, in a very short span of time, inspired a vast range of reactions — admiration, ridicule and anger.
His campaign before the Delhi Assembly elections fired people’s imagination and resulted in AAP bagging 28 seats, beating all poll projections.
The new party represented hope. In 49 short days of his rule in Delhi, Kejriwal seems to have overturned that, say his critics. But there are many others who still pin their hopes on AAP, especially those belonging to Delhi’s lower strata.
However, up or down, Kejriwal and his party continue to fuel debates in corporate boardrooms, newsrooms and living rooms. When there’s AAP, there is never a dull moment – be it Kejriwal’s public campaign on the Ambani-Adani-Modi combine or declaring that the entire media is ‘sold-out.’ In the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, social networks, too, are agog with muffler-man jokes and spoofs.
But if there are some who feel that AAP is losing steam, others believe it needs to be given more time.
Ranjit Singh, a driver, says, “Nothing changes in a day. Kejriwal barely got a few weeks in the Government and it would be wrong to say that he can’t change the system. I think he should be given another chance.”
Ghanshyam, a paan-seller, also feels that Kejriwal is being judged in too short a time. “BJP and Congress have ruled for so long, we should give AAP some more time. Hopefully, they will learn from their mistakes,” he says. But there are pockets of disenchantment, too. Sonali Chakraborty, a post-graduate student in Jawaharlal Nehru University, is disillusioned with AAP.
“When AAP was first formed, we were all hopeful. We felt that Kejriwal’s background, education and clean status would also mean that he would be a sensible leader. But what he and his party members did (during their 49-day stint) reeks of moral corruption. I don’t think we can risk having such a party gain power in the national space,” she says, referring to alleged racial attacks on some foreign nationals in Delhi.