When Arvind Kejriwal announced last week that he would not stand as a Prime Ministerial candidate in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, BJP candidate Narendra Modi would surely have breathed a sigh of relief. Although in public party leaders have been quick to dismiss the possibility that Kejriwal is a threat to the 'Modi wave', it is hard to believe that AAP's stunning debut in Delhi and Kejriwal's contribution to this, has gone unnoticed by the main opposition party.
Kejriwal like Modi, is a charismatic and instantly recognisable face. He also has the ability to draw people towards his vision. And now with the party's fantastic showing in Delhi, a lot more people will be encouraged to vote for him as he has proved that he can translate hype into votes.
PTI
Which is most probably why AAP leaders are not quite willing to accept Kejriwal's refusal to stand as a Prime Ministerial candidate.
A Times of India report noted that, "Kejriwal was questioned on why he had made the statement on his prime ministerial candidature without prior discussion in the party. "Several party leaders raised the matter and were quite firm on what they felt was a hasty response to media queries," an AAP leader said."
This opinion was reaffirmed by party leader Yogendra Yadav on Sunday when he told reporters that although Kejriwal personally did not want to contest, the party wanted to assess its strength and then take a call on this issue.
AAP leader Gopal Rai in comments to the Economic Times, also said that it was important for Kejriwal to throw his name into the Prime Ministerial ring.
"I feel Arvind (Kejriwal) should come forward and become our prime ministerial candidate. This is my personal opinion, but there are others who also feel this way," Rai told ET after the party's national executive meeting.
"It's true that he is the chief minister of Delhi and is already under a lot of pressure to perform this role. But there is something extraordinary happening in our country and it requires an extraordinary response on Arvind's part," Rai said.
The party clearly feels therefore, that Kejriwal's candidature as Prime Minister is not a personal decision, but one that would have to be taken by the party with its long term ambitions in mind.
A decision by Kejriwal to contest would certainly make the stakes for 2014 that much more interesting at the cost of both Rahul and Modi.
Like Modi, Kejriwal has the capability to galvanise votes for AAP by convincing people that a vote for AAP will essentially be a vote for him. And unlike Modi, he has a far more authentic basis on which to say that he is truly an alternative to the type of politics that currently prevail in the country. He has already captured the imagination of India's politically disillusioned middle class and has the capacity to really turn the situation on its head.
And in presenting himself as an alternative to both candidates, he has the immense capability to draw jittery voters who are likely to vote for Rahul only because they do not want to see Modi come to power.
According to BRP Bhaskar, a Thiruvananthapuram-based political commentator and media veteran, with the Aam Aadmi Party's emergence the 2014 "situation has changed".
Bhaskar said AAP would have an impact, particularly in urban areas. "The urban population has grown to considerable size and (AAP) can make a difference... There was a study which said that there were 160 constituencies where the Internet can play a significant role," Bhaskar said. He added that if AAP won around 30 seats in Lok Sabha polls, "it will be a force that can't be ignored".
As pointed out by Firstpost editor Akshaya Mishra in this piece shortly after AAP's victory, the party can easily target states where the Congress has been out of power for at least more than a decade. "The party presides over a massive vacuum and this creates ample scope for new outfits to claim space. It still has a huge chunk of captive voters across states. Any new outfit with better leadership and a fresher approach to the concerns of the various classes and communities might not find it difficult to tap into this captive vote bank.", he wrote.
Whether or not Kejriwal will lead this effort remains to be seen, but one thing is certain as of now. The decision is not final yet.
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