Called 'anarchists' and 'Naxals', AAP supporters celebrate as Arvind Kejriwal takes over as Delhi CM

New Delhi: The swearing-in ceremony of Arvind Kejriwal as Delhi Chief Minister and his six colleagues as Cabinet Ministers at the Ramlila Maidan brought back the memories of 2011 anti-corruption movement which galvanised the country and led to the Aam Aadmi Party's formation. The crowd that came at the Ramlila Maidan on Saturday morning to witness the ceremony was upbeat and pointed out that it was a signal to all those who have been calling names to the party and its supporters.

"Anarchists", "Naxals", "hawala traders" and "AAPtards" are some of the abuses hurled at the AAP supporters but on Saturday they said that they won't mind it anymore. The swearing-in ceremony saw over 60,000 elated AAP supporters from all walks of life and all over the country flock to the Ramlila Maidan.

"We represent the symbol of anti-corruption, which we feel is the basic problem of today's India and we won't mind sitting on protest if things go wrong. They labeled us as anarchists and bashed us on social media calling us AAPtards. Delhi polls has proved that people believe in us and our methods," said Kashish Mehra, an AAP volunteer and a resident of New Delhi's Vasant Kunj area.

The crowded Delhi Metro stations were even more cramped as many party volunteers took the metro trains to reach the venue. There was no space for any vehicle to manoeuvre on roads leading to the ground as these were filled with AAP activists donning trademark party caps and singing songs, media persons, police personnel and street-food vendors.

It was chaotic, but no one seemed to be in a mood to complain. Police maintained a strict vigil and so did the AAP volunteers who were deployed on roads leading to the Ramlila Maidan.

A sea of AAP volunteers and supporters, waving national flags, were all over the Ramlila Maidan where patriotic songs were being played.

In recent times, the political party supporters take the electoral battle to the social media and hashtags like #AAPtards are used for people supporting the AAP. But now the AAP has swept the national capital bagging as many as 67 seats out of 70, these supporters felt honoured. "The mandate has honoured us and today we can proudly say that we are AAPtards," said Harsimran Singh who had came to Delhi all the way from Jalandhar to attend the swearing-in ceremony.

Talking about the previous Kejriwal government that lasted for only 49 days, Mihika Sharma, a software engineer from Chennai working in NCR, said, "That government was destined to be short lived. Kejriwal's intentions were good but the government was supported by the Congress party and they had to quit. But this time AAP will prove its worth."

A dance group called 'Dance for Democracy' performed a flash mob at the ground and supported the AAP which they called is a source of change in the Indian democracy. "We have been campaigning for the party. We covered all 70 constituency in 40 days. We believe in AAP," said the dance troop leader.

"I wanted to see this day for whole of my life and today I am witnessing a group of commoners taking oath," said 101-year-old Naresh Yadav, who travelled from Kanpur to Delhi for the event.

Be it the young, old or middle aged, the event saw people of all age group cheering for the new CM but the ceremony also witnessed one of the youngest AAP fans, a six-year-old Fairy, who had come to see her 'Kejriwal uncle', the way she addresses the new CM, taking oath. "I support Kejriwal uncle and I am very happy," said the young supporter dressed up in 'mufflerman' attire.

As the day unfolded, the supporters' enthusiasm reached its zenith. It was AAP all the way. From Metro stations to bus stops to roads, the slogan "5 Saal Kejriwal" came alive as people with an aspiration of change looked towards the man of the day, Arvind Kejriwal.