Anil Anand
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo, the master of political shenanigans, is at it again. After ruling Delhi from Tihar jail and refusing to quit even on moral grounds as he swore by political morality when he made advent on the political horizon, he finally resigned after being bailed out by Supreme Court.
No one had expected, after he walked out of the jail triumphantly, that he would comfortably stay in the palatial Chief Minister’s residence which got constructed tastefully and give rise to a seemingly avoidable controversy. And that too after facing corruption charges in the liquor scam which certainly has taken some sheen off his carefully crafted image of an honest and upright politician who had entered the political arena with a whiff of fresh air and new ideas.
Many including his bete noire BJP would not have expected that in a deft political move he would suddenly resign as chief minister and straight way hit the ground. With assembly elections in Delhi due early next year and he himself having raised pitch for preponing the same and held along with Maharashtra and Jharkhand in two-month time, perhaps he had no better way to come square with political opponents than creating a buzz by quitting.
Quitting as chief minister on the eve of the assembly election with a caretaker loyalist Ms Atishi Marlene in the saddle, to take full command of the political operations is certainly not a bad deal. In fact, he should be given credit to have cleverly created more space for political manoeuvre by distancing from the CM House and thereby take the sting out of the BJP’s onslaught against him under the garb of liquor scam and, of course, the controversy surrounding the plush chief ministerial residence.
Other things apart, a key driving force behind his decision of great political significance is his running feud with Lt Governor V K Saxena on matters related to administration and governance. At times Mr Saxena, as is the culture prevailing these days in the Raj Bhawans across the country particularly in the opposition ruled states and Union Territories, did not mind crossing the Luxman Rekha and be accused of politically confronting the AAP government. The reasons for this are widely known.
Ostensibly, Mr Kejriwal, who does not like any encumbrances coming in his way- whether it is running, politically or administratively, affairs of Delhi government or the plank of opposition unity- saw the resignation drama as a move pregnant with many opportunities. Most importantly, it will give him a chance to try and occupy again the high moral pedestal of a politician with an impeccably clean image as people around him feel that the liquor scam, despite its political motives, has done serious damage to his image.
As chief minister Mr Kejriwal would have found himself further chained, after walking out of the jail, with the strong possibility of the Lt Governor now more aggressively breathing down his neck. The AAP’s master-tactician could ill-afford such a confrontation when Delhi- his political lifeline- assembly elections are round the corner.
Winning Delhi assembly handsomely for the third successive time is crucial for his political survival- both from the point of view of his personal political existence and to raise his graph in the comity of opposition parties. The second part is further crucial for him which can enable him to have a go at the Prime Minister’s office. Given his and his party’s standing, it is a very tall order. Nevertheless, the master-tactician of the art of politics, which has acquired in a very short-span of time, is certainly not going to relent come what may.
At the moment it seems improbable that AAP can lose the next assembly election with Mr Kejriwal in full flow and freed from the responsibilities of the chief minister’s office. What if he returns with a reduced majority?
The numbers will be much more crucial to him. A reduced number will certainly weaken his position even if he forms the government. It will not only give the hyper-aggressive Narendra Modi-Amit Shah-led BJP a handle to question his popularity and thereby raised innumerable questions about his having lost people’s confidence.
In such a case it will be an interesting game of one-up-man ship. Mr Kejriwal has the capacity and guile to counter move-by-move the BJP’s aggressive machinations to embarrass him by all means. This is so because he in his decade long political life has left behind his seasoned and more senior political leaders when it came to enacting political melodrama, art of protestations and above all playing the victimhood card.
As it is Mr Kejriwal did not have a cozy relation with I.N.D.I.A bloc partners particularly Congress. The overriding reason, on the lines of Trinamool Congress Supremo Mamta Banerjee, is overriding political ambitions. The AAP chief very well knows that he has to win Delhi election handsomely so as to be a key player in the opposition politics. Reduced authority in the assembly elections will mean Kejriwal playing a second fiddle which will be to his utter disliking.
In resigning as chief minister Mr Kejriwal has definitely taken a bold and calculated step. The driving force is his urge to strengthen his position, in the face of corruption charges in liquor scam, both within the AAP and in people’s eyes. In any case Supreme Court’s tough bail conditions would not have given him the liberty to act as chief minister in the manner he would have liked to do.
He might portray it as an act of great sacrifice by resigning as the chief minister. Will he have taken this drastic step had the assembly elections been at quite a distance? It seems improbable in such a scenario given the fluid situation through which his party is passing in the light of corruption allegations against him and his colleagues such Manish Sisodia and Satendra Jain.
From hereon Kejriwal has set out on mission to reinvent AAP and himself in the face of corruption taint and jailing of half-a-dozen top leaders of the party led by him. After all AAP was born as result of an anti-corruption movement spearheaded by Anna Hazare and held under the banner of India Against Corruption. Mr Kejriwal had played an important role in this movement and as a result was able to project himself as a leader of the future political outfit AAP.
In this backdrop it is imperative for him to seek fresh lease of life after coming out of Tihar jail. It is important to note that he is on bail and the case pertaining to alleged liquor scam is still being investigated by Enforcement Directorate and CBI.
Will the Modi dispensation, under such circumstances, take the risk of either vigorously pursuing the case through the central agencies or putting Mr Kejriwal behind the bars once again with fast approaching Delhi assembly elections?
Any such eventuality will favour Mr Kejriwal more than benefitting BJP.
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