16 March 2014, 05:16 PM IST
Most of us probably recall our college days with great fondness. We remember our first crush, the first brush with a nutty professor, the first fight...the list is long. We also tend to remember those particularly talented Casanovas who changed girlfriends like soiled shirts yet managed to freeload on their pocket money. I particularly remember one chap in college who would flaunt new deo sprays, watches, jeans, expensive underwear and even fuel in his bike gifted by his long string of girlfriends who were so smitten by him that they would do anything for their prince, even if he were theirs only for a while. I always wondered how he managed to do that. But after seeing the growth path of Arvind Kejriwal and Aam Aadmi Party, I think I know how Mr Casanova played his game.
AAP, just before the Delhi assembly election in December, was the Casanova of Indian politics: it flirted with the media, seduced the gullible aam aadmi with promises of a corruption-free wonderland where water will be free and power cheap, and bedded dejected political elements by showing them the Swaraj dream. The media, in particular, went blind in its newfound love: TV channels gave most of their airtime to the party, while newspapers ran full page after full page covering every single aspect of the party's poll run. Its spectacular show in the assembly election was actually scripted by the media; but Kejriwal and his party thought that they were more capable than their rivals and the last hope of redemption of the common man. It took them just days to pull down the facade of humility and replace it with arrogance. And in its vainglory, the party jeopardised its bonhomie with the media.
AAP ran its 49-day government on the strength of television and not political vision, and in doing so, they exposed their dark underbelly to the media. This time, though, the media was quick to spot it, much to the chagrin of Kejriwal and his cronies who saw it as betrayal by a loyal concubine. The party sent feelers to different media houses. It was hoping that the media would kiss and make up. But it didn't. It was out of its drunken stupor. It was now willing to call a spade a spade. AAP didn't like it.
It tried to influence more pliant reporters and editors in various newsrooms. There was some success, no doubt, as some journalists parroted party ideology for a while before realising that their organisations were unwilling to back them. But it ended with some journalists quitting their organisations and joining the party and others falling in line. Frustrated, the party started calling the media paid. Of course, the media didn't care much, but it did its duty by showing all those press meets and rallies where AAP attacked its sanctity. Then the party itself bowed out, or ran away as some put it, from government. It once again hoped that the media would see it with sympathetic eyes, but the media saw through its plot. Result: more disappointment and anger with the media.
All this while, though, both the Congress and BJP were playing a clever game. Both Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi stopped mentioning Kejriwal or AAP in their election rallies and increasingly made it appear that the big race was only between them. Modi was shrewd enough to talk mostly about development, while Rahul kept on talking about communalism and women empowerment—his pet topics. As a result, opinion polls, too, kept their focus on the two parties and their respective leaders and spared little thought for Kejriwal and AAP. Naturally, Kejriwal's ego was hurt. He refused to be sidelined just like that after hogging the limelight for almost two months or more. He responded with more stunts: the 'expose' on the Gujarat model, street fights in Delhi with BJP workers, and showdowns in Amethi with alleged Congress workers. Media reported it all, but examined his lofty claims under critical light. This resulted in more frustration for Kejriwal.
Today, Kejriwal is a loose cannon. And he has also tried his hand at soothsaying by tweeting that Modi won't win and his party would win 100 Lok Sabha seats. He is no longer talking about corruption, the scandals of UPA-II, or even Mukesh Ambani; his entire focus is on exposing Modi and the whole media that Modi has allegedly paid to keep the spotlight on him. Kejriwal himself is flying in private jets and participating in high-profile dinners in upscale hotels where people are paying Rs 10,000 to dine with him. And there, the man who once promised sweeping reforms in Delhi is now making sweeping statements against the media and everyone else who questions his motives.
The common man of this country today believes aam aadmi Kejriwal fell victim to his own boundless ambition and contradictions. And he has responded to this turncoat act with new sobriquets for Kejriwal: "media-hater", "hate-monger", "opportunist", and "power hungry". On Holi, India has seen the true colours of Kejriwal and his party.
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