CAPITAL PAINS

Delhi appears to have entered the community transmission stage, and with the AAP government’s own estimates putting the number of cases by the end of July at 5.5 lakh, there is an urgent need to put aside politics and fight the pandemic together

- SONI MISHRA

A few months ago, Arvind Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party had carefully negotiated the communal minefield set by the BJP, against the backdrop of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, to record another spectacular victory in the Delhi elections. It was almost as dazzling a win as the 2015 victory, perhaps even more so, given the anti-incumbency.

However, Kejriwal did not have the luxury of easing into another term as chief minister. Communal riots shook the capital soon after he was sworn in and he was criticised for focusing more on optics and attempting a balancing act rather than dealing with the violence head-on. Then came the pandemic, which is proving to be an extreme test of Kejriwal’s leadership.

In the initial days of the outbreak, the focus was on the government’s ability to help those left stranded by the lockdown. The BJP had alleged that the AAP had a role to play in the exodus of migrants from the capital. There were also complaints about the distribution of free ration and food to the poor. On balance, the Kejriwal government was seen as having made an effort to feed and shelter those affected by the pandemic restrictions.

It has been a testing time for Kejriwal personally, too. He fell ill and had to be tested for Covid-19; it was negative. A much bigger test, however, lies ahead.

In the past three months, Kejriwal has addressed the people of Delhi with great regularity. Through ‘digital press conferences’, he has sought to convey his government’s preparedness to deal with Covid-19 and appealed to residents to stay indoors. He even prescribed reading the Gita to beat lockdown blues.