Once in a baffling blue moon comes along an impenetrable individual, whose sole ideology is himself. Arvind Kejriwal, the bespectacled enfant terrible of Delhi, wearing a trademark check shirt one size too large, and sporting a wispy mustache above a deviously diffident smile, is one such patented phenomenon: a neta without ideology, whisky without alcohol.
However, the hangover in the political cocktail that landed him in Tihar jail seems to be dissipating as he strategises his big comeback. He has placed Atishi as his trusted timeshare trainee in the CM's chair and scrambled back on ye olde platform: an underdog as the top dog. He is back with a bark and a bite, with aggression directed at Narendra Modi and the Congress. Hatred unites with irony-both Modi and Kejrwial are the lone mass mobilisers and vote catchers for their parties.
Kejriwal's political quest after finding Anna Hazare was to find himself. He obviously liked what he found, because there wasn't anything else there except Kejriwal. The histrionically high octaves about victimhood, the unfurling of the besmirched flag of uprightness, and donning the cap of the neo freedom fighter with an anagram. He took it all, every conscience-cliché, political meme and historical pastiche and wove it all into one ballot basketthe messiah whose welfarism was but an Indira Gandhi trope.
No talk of making Delhi a multi-trillion economy. No chatter about AI and technology. Kejriwal uses the exhortation of self identity by seeking a mass covenant of rhetorical legerdemain: choose a leader who lives, eats, breathes and dresses like you. Choose one of you, for you. After the new genre of Modi hhakts made landfall in 2014, Kejriwal lahs are a new class of electors who cut across castes and communities. It is an army of Kejriwallahs who trounced the Modi machine in the last two assembly elections in Delhi and one in Punjab.
Denne historien er fra September 22, 2024-utgaven av The Morning Standard.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra September 22, 2024-utgaven av The Morning Standard.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Change the drape game
Sari, the iconic garment steeped in centuries of history, is experiencing a remarkable revival, thanks to this groundbreaking collaboration
Recognising atypical symptoms of diabetes in the elderly
DIABETES is becoming an increasingly prevalent and debilitating condition, affecting both the youth and elderly, particularly those over the age of 40.
A WINTER MEAL WITH THE WAZA
Kashmiri chef Tariq Ahmed, a Waza, brought his best game at a Kashmiri food festival. He breaks down the spirit of Wazwan rooted in togetherness, celebration, and the use of fresh and local ingredients.
Italy, France book Nations League quarters spot
ITALY ensured qualification for the Nations League quarterfinals with a victory over Belgium on Thursday that also guaranteed France a place in the last-eight despite a lacklustre display in a scoreless draw with Israel under tight security in Paris.
574 players listed for IPL auction, 13-yr-old youngest
RISHABH Pant, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul and Arshdeep Singh will headline a 574-strong list of players with a top base price of ₹2 crore at the Indian Premier League auction scheduled in Saudi Arabia's Jeddah on November 24 and 25.
Kamboj 3rd to claim perfect 10
HARYANA pacer Anshul Kamboj entered the record books on Friday as he became only the third bowler in the history of Ranji Trophy to claim all 10 wickets in an innings.
Badoni hits unbeaten ton in Delhi's strong reply
SKIPPER Ayush Badoni slammed an unbeaten 116 as Delhi scored 238/5 in reply to Jharkhand's first innings total of 382 in their Ranji Trophy match on Friday.
Fulton presses for restructure
IMMEDIATELY after winning the bronze medal at the Paris Olympics, neither the Indian men's hockey team nor their head coach Craig Fulton had much time to celebrate.
Rahul suffers blow on right elbow
IF any player that has managed to attract so much media attention before a series, it has to be KL Rahul this time Down Under.
Samson-Tilak carnage @ J o,burg
THIS has been a glorious TZOI year for the Indian team and their batters ringfenced 2024 with a sort of hedonism you wouldn,t have associated with this team even a few years ago.