You wanted a common man as a chief minister. You cannot complain now that he's warming up to the job. On December 30, Arvind Kejriwal tweeted about his health. In graphic details. Holding himself accountable to the people who voted him to power, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader said he regretted not being able to attend office.
Only it didn't end there. He proceeded to explain why. "Running 102 fever since yesterday. Severe loose motions. Sad that I won't be able to attend office today," Kejriwal tweeted. True to style, the former RTI activist's post found resonance with hundreds of people who follow him on Twitter and have at least once in their life sent a text message to their boss saying 'running a fever. Severe loose motions. Can't come in to work today.'
The tweet had over 400 retweets, with concerned citizens advising him rest.
"Please to not drink water outside. Boiled or bottled. One failure across India, we don't get safe drinking water," replied @neetakolhatkar.
User @mohankapur said "It's better to take 2-3 days off now to recuperate and get back fit than to struggle and get bed ridden for a week or more!"
One user, @LaEega, hilariously observed "we used to do that (use the loose motion excuse) in school so that teacher would get disgusted and won't ask any more questions on absence".
This is a heady new phenomenon - being able to connect to your chief minister directly, advising him, ribbing him, maybe even get a response from him. The transparency is terrifying in its unfamiliarity. With four recent tweets, Kejriwal has forced the cynics into believing that things are about to be very different.
It's all good when a Bollywood film sweeps the youths with its 'be the change you are seeking' message, but translating reel into reality usually means a constant battle against deeply ingrained corruption.
Before he took oath, Kejriwal tweeted that his family will sit among the public in a free-for-all event that made public history. He has already refused special security and a bungalow. His ministers take the metro rail and auto rickshaw to work. Kejriwal even dresses like the common man - in a nondescript pullover, a patternless shirt, grey muffler and trousers.
But let's give credit where its' due. Even before Kejriwal arrived on the scene, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah wouldn't hold himself back on social platforms - cracking jokes with people on Twitter, asking for cricket scores, pensively reflecting on things that bothered him and sharing photos. He was the 'cool young CM' before Kejriwal dethroned him.
Recently Congress leader and union minister Kapil Sibal joined Twitter and engaged in lighthearted banter with a user. He described himself as 'one of you.'
So far Kejriwal has understood what the common man wants and is making all the right sounds. Will this transparency reflect in governance? We'll have to wait and see.
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