The timing of resignation is parallel to the BJP-AAP-Congress tiff which AAP would have wanted to exploit to its advantage. Now the fight will become Us vs Them.
Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal lost his patience pretty fast and resigned from chief ministership of Delhi on Friday night. It was not a surprise to many as he had threatened thrice within a week to do so as he was finding it difficult to pass the Janlokpal Bill in the Delhi assembly. But it sure was a letdown to all who had supported him and wanted him to bring a change that he had promised.
It is no denying the fact that Kejriwal’s government was marred with negative press of late and the party was looking for an exit route as it needed to revive its position before general elections began. Kejriwal always maintained in his 49 day long government that he did not care about remaining a chief minister, that he was not hungry for power. But rather than governing the state properly, he chose to resign as his next act – that of fighting general elections as PM candidate – needs him now.
As a matter of fact, when he was reading out his resignation speech, his full focus was on BJP and its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi as they are the main contenders. Maybe he saw the recent poll surveys which pegged Modi as the next king.
The situation, however, can swing to any side.
Given that AAP was unable to do much in the 49 day government and resigned without thinking twice about the people of Delhi who put their faith on it, the public may discard them as the party who is best suited for the role of activism rather than governance. But people do not care much about the parliamentary procedures. As admitted by Kejriwal himself, people do not go into the nuances of any bill much. What thsy see it as a medicine to their problem, which is again, projected by the leaders only. They must have seen the Congress-BJP closeness on their television screens and have felt sympathy for Kejriwal and his party. Winning on sympathy wave is nothing new in this country.
Also, Kejriwal will now go door to door and list out all of his achievements, however small, to gain public confidence. As he did in his resignation speech too, he will hold both the parties, especially BJP, responsible for its demise and will play the martyrdom card (which we had told our readers earlier). He will also mess the mind of the voter by highlighting the corruption in the system rather than focusing on the important issues. But if the voters are smart, they will remember his escape from his duties and catch his lies and may vote for a better leader.
What should be noted is the fact that Kejriwal could not have brought Janlokpal even if he had succeeded to garner support from Congress. His government was a minority and BJP was opposed to bringing it ‘illegaly’. The lt-Guv was also against the bill as it was bypassing the law. Either way, the fate of the party was sealed.
Janlokpal is the main plank for his party to win any fight. As Kiran Bedi had said earlier, with Janlokpal reaching its fate, Kejriwal’s worth will go down. He will not have any agenda to push through. That was the precise reason he was opposed to Centre’s Janlokpal Bill even when Anna Hazare was supporting it.
So, should we think that the hastiness in resigning was due to the said loss of agenda afterwards? Maybe we should. BJP had said that it will support Janlokpal if brought legally in the assembly. Also, the timing of resignation is parallel to the BJP-AAP-Congress tiff which AAP would have wanted to exploit to its advantage. Now the fight will become Us vs Them.
Calling the bluff of AAP will now need countering it tactfully at every corner and statement. The time is to turn the joke on them so that they do not escape if they receive a second chance.
