For an impulsive man, AAP chief and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal showed extraordinary patience and political acumen by stopping his rancid personal attacks against his political rival, PM Narendra Modi, for the last couple of years. He had called the PM “a coward and a psychopath” before the pall of civility descended temporarily.
He was advised that attacking the PM did not go down well with his electorate, many of whom vote for the BJP at the national level and for AAP in local elections.
Modi continues to enjoy enviable popularity at home and abroad. He was recently adjudged as the world’s most popular leader with an approval rating of 78% among his voters, way ahead of Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron or Rishi Sunak, according to a survey by US-based consulting firm Morning Consult.
In the time the Delhi CM kept his tongue on leash, those in the Opposition space called AAP the ‘B-team of the BJP’, ‘Hindutva Lite’, and suchlike. But he started gaining the trust of Hindus beyond Delhi, and even swept the polls in Punjab.
Now, the personal attacks are back.
He recently called Modi “anpadh” or ‘illiterate’ Prime Minister for exhorting citizens to come out to clap and bang pots and pans during Covid. But cunningly left out half the truth. Modi had asked people to clap for health workers as a tribute, not as a cure. Nations from the US to Turkey, the UK to Germany, Italy to Korea all paid tribute to their Covid warriors in the same manner.
Kejriwal has again attacked the PM personally after the Centre asked the Delhi government to postpone presenting the state Budget on technical grounds. Delhi and Puducherry are the only two Union Territories with a state legislature. Their Budgets need to be cleared by the MHA before these can be tabled. Still, Kejriwal asked if Modi had a grudge against the people of Delhi.
Why is Arvind Kejriwal suddenly back to making personal attacks against Narendra Modi? Here are some probable reasons.
First, the arrest of deputy CM and Kejriwal’s close aide Manish Sisodia in the liquor scam, months after his finance minister Satyendra Jain was thrown in prison may have got his goat. Losing two most trusted aides in a short time can frustrate the most stable minds.
Second, with two states under his belt, Kejriwal has ambitions to lead the Opposition into the 2024 general elections. But repeated pot-shots from other Opposition leaders about his growing, newfound Hindutva leaning and perceived understanding with the BJP may be working on his mind. He may want to shake off the ‘BJP’s B-Team’ image by taking on the PM personally.
But the third and most interesting factor could be his unease with Punjab CM and his underling Bhagwant Mann’s smooth coordination and open communication lines with the Centre. The crackdown on Amritpal Singh-led Khalistani upstart outfit Waris Punjab De has shown that the Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Mann closely planned and monitored the operation.
Besides, Mann is rumoured to have pushed out Kejriwal’s eyes and ears in Punjab, Raghav Chadha, from all matters of the government. Also, the anti-Khalistan operation has won Mann praise from even his ideological rivals.
All this could have thrown Kejriwal’s acquired patience towards PM Modi. But if he fits his old tongue back firmly to his mouth, the taste of success among the electorate that respects Modi will elude him.
Abhijit Majumder is a senior journalist. Views expressed are personal.
Read all the Latest Opinions here
Comments
0 comment