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.
This story is from the September 22, 2024 edition of The New Indian Express.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the September 22, 2024 edition of The New Indian Express.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
NOW YOU SEE ME 3 WRAPS FILMING
IONSGATE has announced that their upcoming film Now You See Me 3 has officially wrapped shooting.
A BLEAK LIFE
THE first thing that would catch the eye of the subcontinental audience about the Kazakh film Madina is the nice, amiable way it brings India and Pakistan together:
'Cross presentsanew evolution ofthe thriller game'
Cross star Aldis Hodge speaks about his titular role in the Prime Video series, its views on morality and justice, working with creator Ben Watkins, his vision for the future of the character,
The magic of millets
Millets are small-seeded plants grown around drought-resistant farmlands.
Javier Bardem to headline CAPE FEAR
WE had earlier reported that Martin Scorsese's 1991 film, Cape Fear, is being adapted into a series by Apple TV+. Now, it has been revealed that Academy Award-winner Javier Bardem will be taking on the lead role in the series.
PORTIONS OF INEQUALITY
What and how much is served on one's plate has a greater connotation - it talks loud about food as a tool of dominance
Sharpening sportsmanship
When former India all-rounder and coach Robin Singh set up his cricket academy in the United Arab Emirates, Stephen Vincent, a noted coach with a vast experience from Chennai, was among the coaching staff at the academy. He went on to become the chief coach under Robin. And now, Vincent is the head coach of the Dunes Cricket Academy, which has three centres with turf wickets and Astro wickets, with the main one being at the Karama Sports Bay Centre.
AGE HOW NATURE TRACKS TIME
Different animal species grow older, or younger, differently, but ageing is determined by the ecosystems they occupy and the natural role they are designated
From Indirais 6pro-Hindu, turn to Modi's 6new phase,
Rae's ultimate non-decision According to the author, Rao inherited \"a very difficult situation\" when he took over as PM after Rajiv Gandhi's assassination.
Nitish Reddy for Test debut in Oz
Youngster adopts Kohli's fitness & Hardik's diet in his quest to become an all-format player