OPINION

In Delhi, Kejriwal Sets Odd Agenda, Flummoxes Rivals

By
Akshaya Mishra

As Delhi readies itself to elect a new assembly, the build-up to the big day – February 8 – serves up certain uniqueness. Seeking a repeat mandate, Arvind Kejriwal has devised a campaign strategy which is as innovative as it is impactful and as simple as it is apparently not. Singularly bereft of bluster and boisterousness and disarmingly distant from any confrontation, the strategy rides entirely on a narrative of good vibes. This has to be a first in the country where election campaigns invariably delve into nastiness and gladiatorial blood-letting.

When did you last hear a political party making education its primary campaign talking point? Well, forget last. There never was one. When Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party appeals to voters to judge it by its accomplishment in the area of education, it is certainly a fresh and refreshing offering in electoral politics. Parties, accustomed to reducing poll strategies to sop-fests and treating the voter as bribe-seekers, generally undervalue education as a vote-catcher. It is too dull and unexciting a subject to be broached at rallies or during direct interaction with ordinary masses. The AAP has upended this calcified belief through sustained focus on the subject. And people appear interested.

The same goes for health. It is not often one hears of healthcare as a campaign issue. If at all, it is invariably a minor matter, more about adding numbers to the items on the manifesto than actual intent. Grandiose health schemes and platitudes on public health keep surfacing in election rallies but hardly with any sense of urgency. The AAP has made it a talking point too. Mohalla clinics may not have taken off as it would have expected but the party certainly sees it as a potent electoral plank, simply because it has put its mind to a subject that is close to an everyday need of the masses with some sincerity.

It requires high degree of confidence to solicit votes on planks that can be open to subjective opinion. Claims of performances on education and health render themselves to harsh scrutiny and the result of such scrutiny may prove disastrous to the party making the claims. That is one reason why political parties steer clear of such subjects. Kejriwal’s party has taken the challenge head on in a clean departure from this approach. A positive result in the election for it would be testimony to the efficacy of the approach.

Add to all this the deliberate move from the party to stay steadfastly detached from the controversies of the day and build its image as a political outfit dedicated solely to the cause of Delhi and its citizens. Thus one hears no remarks from the generally voluble Kejriwal on the ongoing protests over CAA and NRC. On Shaheen Bagh and the JNU fracas earlier, his silence is more conscious than his words. He has stopped his acidic tweets on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and his party too refrains from engaging the usually combative BJP on the many accusations it throws up.

As a tactical move it appears brilliant. It not only denies the rivals a handle to corner him but also makes them look silly and out of touch with ground reality. While the main rival BJP continues to be shrill and divisive, raking up issues that hardly touch lives of people, the AAP has managed to nullfy the sting with its disarming mass-centric approach focussed on hearths and homes. Personified, the AAP would be the genial, affable neighbourhood problem- solver. The BJP on the other hand would be the bristling, grumpy, cynical ready-to-trade blows uncle next door. The Congress, which does not look to be a serious challenger, would at best be a softer version of the latter albeit much more confused.

Call it the art of disengagement. This election, the AAP has not let the BJP set the agenda simply by ignoring the latter. It has refused to walk into potential traps such as Shaheen Bagh and JNU and it has taken direct combat out of the equation. It has set its own agenda and steered the entire poll conversation into that.

It is risky as poll strategy but Kejriwal is willing to take the risk. And for the first time, the activist-politician looks to have discovered his comfort zone as both activist and politician.

Akshaya Mishra

Senior Journalist & Writer based in New Delhi

Recent Posts

Thalassemia & Sickle Cell Patients Stage Dharna For Blood Transfusion Centre At MKCG Hospital In Odisha’s Berhampur

Berhampur: Hundreds of thalassemia and sickle cell patients on Tuesday staged a demonstration demanding a…

November 26, 2024

Samantha Ruth Prabhu Was Labelled ‘Second Hand’, ‘Used’ After Divorce With Naga Chaitanya

Mumbai: Actress Samantha Ruth Prabhu and her ex-husband actor Naga Chaitanya have moved on after…

November 26, 2024

Amid Divorce Rumours, Aishwarya Asks Women To Never Compromise On Their Worth [Watch]

Mumbai: Amidst rumours of their divorce, Bollywood queen Aishwarya Rai asked women to stand up…

November 26, 2024

Prime Minister Modi To Participate In Roadshow On Arrival In Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in a roadshow on his arrival at Bhubaneswar…

November 26, 2024

How Custody Battle With Elon Musk Left His Ex-Girlfriend Grimes ‘Bankrupt’

New York: Elon Musk, father of 12 children with different partners, has led an eventful…

November 26, 2024

Vigilance Apprehends College Principal While Taking Rs 1 Lakh Bribe In Odisha’s Nayagarh

Bhubaneswar: Vigilance has apprehended a college principal while taking a bribe of Rs 1 lakh…

November 26, 2024

FIR Against ‘Pushpa 2’ Actor Shri Tej For Cheating & Exploiting Woman

Mumbai: Ahead of the release of Allu Arjun's highly-anticipated ‘Pushpa: The Rule’, one of the…

November 26, 2024

Odisha Govt Rejects IAS Officer Sujata Karthikeyan’s Leave Extension Application

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has rejected the application of IAS officer Sujata R Karthikeyan for…

November 26, 2024