Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Can Kejriwal make it to top?' that was published in Newsband

Can Kejriwal make it to top?

Arvind Kejriwal has many Indian eyes focused on him. People are well aware about his education at IIT Kharagpur, his subsequent career as a bureaucrat, his role as an RTI (right to information) activist, his past alliances with Anna Hazare and Kiran Bedi and his subsequent fallout with both. This man has made himself open to every scrutiny. That is the best thing about him. He believes in justice for all and he is prepared to go to any extent to end crooked governance.

He could be the new kind of politician we have long hoped for. He is ambitious and self confident. He is intellectual enough to lead a brand new political party.

RTI movement is Kejriwal’s passion. RTI, he said, is what needs to grow in India and that can’t happen with funds. Plainly money isn’t going to be a key driver in this man’s life.

Kejriwal is no middle-class seeker. When he inveighed against the rampant corruption in all government dealings, it was the middle-class that sent out a collective cheer. But as he announces the formation of a party, what will give him the momentum needed to become a national player will be the backlash of the poorest of the land. His detractors do fault him for breaking ranks with his co-conspirators in the great march against corruption. But it is obvious that Kejriwal is no fence-sitter.

The constitution allows everyone the right to contest the polls without asking for any guarantees on what they will do post-elections. So there is nothing wrong in Kejriwal too nurturing political ambition. Kejriwal stands out for his transparency, his background and his doggedness. He refuses to fear the big shots in Indian politics. That is another plus point of his. He has boldly chosen to launch his political party. How he fares remains to be seen. But India’s crowded political space needs more such people to muscle out the current lot of corrupt politicians.

It appears that the days of corrupt politicians are numbered.  After parting ways with Anna Hazare, Kejriwal has changed the slogan “I am Anna” to a new one that is “I am Aam Aadmi” (I am a common man). He aspires to join hands with local level activists from all the corners of the country. Kejriwal also stated that the door of their party is open to people from all strata of the society that cuts across economic as well as social boundaries.

The political party that is launched is a new development in the anti-corruption movement. The newly formed party seeks to change the political dynamics by making it more accountable and transparent for the “aam aadmi”. This represents a healthy alternative and a striking contrast to our mainstream parties. When in the contemporary situation, political parties are more engraved in satisfying their vested interests, Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party strongly believes in the universal democratic principal “for the people, of the people and by the people”. In his draft of nine-points named “Vision Document”, Kejriwal envisions people’s mandate in addition to bringing about judicial, police, bureaucracy and electoral reforms.

Kejriwal’s idea of bringing power to the people does sound rhetoric. But time will be the yardstick to measure the impact of Kejriwal’s party on Indian politics.