Indian poll 2014: Aam Aadmi Kejriwal to take on Modi in Varanasi
-DR. ABDUL RUFF COLACHAL
———————–
Courage
The Common man’s (Aam Aadmi Party) is all set to field its founder leader Arvind Kejriwal against the Hindutva firebrand and BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi from the Varanasi (Kashi) Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh. Varanasi or Kashi a major Hindu religious place and hence the BJP decided to shield the Hindutva leader Modi by fielding him from that constituency.
The first ever common man in politics to become the CM of Delhi state, Kejriwal has said at a rally in Bangalore on Sunday that he would face the PM candidate Modi. Kejriwal said, “Many people asking me- “will you contest against Modiji?” and he answered the query by the Varanasi announcement.
Arvind Kejriwal sent the political mercury soaring on 16 March, declaring he would talk about whether he would contest against BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, who has been fielded from the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat. On March 2, the AAP had smartly let it be known that Kejriwal would take on Modi from Varanasi.
Hindutva protectionism
Interestingly, Kejriwal’s statement comes a day after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) declared Modi as its Varanasi candidate. AAP sources say the decision is final and a formal announcement will come at a party rally in Varanasi on March 23. This confirmed the buzz that had been going around for some time now and the AAP too had lined up its trump card accordingly.
So, the bottlelike is now clear: now it is between a party of industrialists and of common men – BJP versus a man from common population Aam Aadmi Kejriwal. Win or lose, a Modi versus Kejriwal contest will invariably become a big story till the Lok Sabha polls end. This will play out perfectly for the AAP, which is making its national debut after a stunning performance in the Delhi assembly polls.
Anti-corruption platform
Aam Admi party’s is an anti-corruption platform that has acquired all important anti-people issues like communalism, criminal nexus between Congress-BJP and corporate club, etc.
The ex-CM of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal considers both corrupt Congress and BJP as its chief opponents, the enemies of people. In leading the common people, Kejriwal in fact fulfills the promise of the freedom fighters who wanted to see common Indians live in peace and prosperity. The corrupt and arrogant leaders of Indian regime have betrayed the people as well as the promises of the freedom fighters. The AAP smartly let it be known on March 2 that Kejriwal will take on Modi from Varanasi.
Kejriwal heads into a rally following fund-raising dinner in Mumbai that brought the AAP Rs. 50 lakh. Thousands of common people gathered at the ground to listen the former Delhi chief minister. Former prime-ministers Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Atal Behari Vajpayee and Congress president Sonia Gandhi have addressed several gatherings at this ground that has a capacity for 100,000 people. Senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia too has said that it is more or less decided that Kejriwal will contest against Modi. AAP volunteers have be asked to go to Varanasi ahead of the rally.
On March 7, day 3 of his four-day roadshow in Gujarat, he posed 17 questions to Modi at a press conference and also made a futile bid to meet him. Modi still refuses to confront Kejriwal and avoids his serious questions.. Amid the criticism and the praise, Kejriwal remains the talking point of the day.
Kejriwal asked both Modi and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi should come clean on whose planes they fly in and who pays for them.
Images of an AAP supporter being beaten up while holding a broom — the party symbol — could go only so far to protect the distinct identity of the party that claims to draw its sustenance from common people. The violence broke out after Gujarat Police stopped Kejriwal from going to meet Modi. Kejriwal, who was in Gujarat, apologized on behalf of his party workers for the violence. “I apologize on behalf of the workers who turned violent outside the BJP office.
Kejriwal has been targeting Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and its chairperson Mukesh Ambani over the government’s decision to raise natural gas prices from April 1. According to Kejriwal, this is being done to benefit the businessman. He has accused the Congress and the BJP of having a “setting” with Mukesh Ambani. The word “setting” used in this context by Kejriwal is a typical Indianism for an understanding on the sly. On March 4, Anil Ambani-led Reliance Infrastructure (RInfra) filed a Rs 100-crore defamation suit in Bombay high court against the AAP, which alleged the power company had overcharged consumers in collusion with Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission. Anil Ambani’s elder brother Mukesh Ambani, India’s richest man, has also come under attack from Kejriwal.
False claims
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal targets Narendra Modi, alleging the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) prime minister nominee was spreading ‘white lies’ to exaggerate Gujarat’s development story. “Modi had a blot on his political career because of his alleged involvement in the Gujarat riots that killed hundreds of people. Therefore, a conspiracy was hatched to project him as man of development. These people need to be identified and be punished for the conspiracy,” Kejriwal said. With a view to taking on Modi on his turf, Kejriwal headed to Gujarat on a “fact-finding” mission to check on chief minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi’s claims of development in the state.
In a public meeting in Mumbai, Kejriwal lambasted Modi and BJP for making media the paid outsource for the poll. BJP media strategy is to manage the media in its own way. His latest anti-media remarks came a day after he told a fundraiser dinner that his party, if voted to power, would send behind bars those journalists who had been “bought” to promote Modi. Later, addressing a public rally in Nagpur, he said his party would not get “intimidated by the terrorizing attitude of the media”. Kejriwal and his party have a genuine robust presence in the media, but when they hit the headlines by accusing the media of having “sold out”. That was major news for thought.
Launching a frontal attack on, BJP, Kejriwal said the BJP was in power at the Centre and in Delhi but did nothing to provide justice to the victims of anti-Sikh riots of 1984. “When we assumed power, the AAP set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the riots,” he pointed out. He continued, “The poor farmers are deprived of their rightful land and taken away by Modi government and given to industries at cheaper rates. The farmers are not getting adequate compensation for the same,” he said and asked how it could be a model state in the country.
Questioning the Gujarat model of development, he said that it was “media hype” and people of the state were suffering a lot. “I have succeeded to some extent to exposing the myth of development of Gujarat during my recent tour in the state,” he claimed. He continued, “The poor farmers are deprived of their rightful land and taken away by Modi government and given to industries at cheaper rates. The farmers are not getting adequate compensation for the same,” he said and asked how it could be a model state in the country.
BJP worries
Already the there are conflicts within the BJP over choice issue, as the party debated for days about safe places for senior leaders. But Kejriwal contesting from Varanasi can be a headache for the BJP since this seat was carefully chosen for Modi after much internal wrangling as party veteran Murli Manohar Joshi too wanted the same seat. He had to relent and move to another seat. However, the BJP has said that for “safety” reasons, Modi may also contest from another Lok Sabha seat – in his native Gujarat. It seems the party expected a face-off in Varanasi.
On the other side, Kejriwal and his party have been on the offensive against Modi. The AAP leader recently toured Gujarat, questioning Modi’s claims of good governance. Soon after, the BJP dared Kejriwal to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Gujarat.
The BJP is coy about Modi’s candidature, even as the buzz around Varanasi grows.
The AAP has fans for being combative and challenging the established order, but even Kejriwal probably did not bargain for the violence by his party’s supporters outside the BJP headquarters in Delhi.
Fear of the inevitable
Modi, the leader who is day dreaming about chairing the National Security Council meeting as Indian PM to ask the intelligence wings to promote Hindutva and Hindusim as the base of Indian culture, is perhaps the unhappiest politician in the country with the prospect of facing the most powerful politician Kejriwal- the outcome of the fight is evident now. . .
Win or lose, a Modi versus Kejriwal contest will invariably become a big story till the Lok Sabha polls end. This will play out perfectly for the AAP, which is making its national debut after a stunning performance in the Delhi assembly polls.
The AAP proclaims transparency in donations and over its fledgling career, this has paid off in difficult times. Every time the AAP seems cornered over an issue, the support is not only seen on the streets. The party’s coffers also swell. The party saw a 260% jump in donations the day news of Kejriwal being “detained” in Gujarat hit the headlines.
Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which ruled Delhi with outside support from Congress, let go of power on February 14 after failing to table their brand of anti-corruption legislation, the Jan Lokpal bill, in the assembly. Both Congress party and BJP opposed the bill as well as anti-corruption measures.
Kejriwal’s contest against Modi will be similar to his challenge thrown to Congress’ Sheila Dikshit in the Delhi Assembly elections. He had said that he would contest from wherever the then Delhi chief minister would contest. In the end, he defeated Dikshit with a massive margin from the New Delhi Assembly constituency. He went on to become the chief minister but resigned after some weeks when the Congress-BJP combines stalled his Lokpal bill being tabled in Delhi Assembly. .
Surely, the lessons the AAP learned dung the Delhi poll and governance will come handy to Kejriwal and his dedicated team members, and workers to face with firmness the parliamentary poll as well as the post poll politics in India.
Is India changing for the better with the arrival of AAP?
______________________________
INTERNATIONAL OPINION 