Arvind Kejriwal has received a lot of flak for backing his law minister on his night raid against alleged drug and prostitution rackets that some see as nothing but moral policing. His two day protest seeking action against the Delhi Police may have earned him even more criticism, but has it also given a much needed boost in the run up to the Lok Sabha elections?
In south India, where the party has acknowledged it needs to have a greater presence, some say that Arvind Kejriwal's image has taken a hit thanks to his rally.
"Tamil Nadu as a society is quite conservative, so people could have taken the action of busting a sex racket in a good spirit but two things didn't go down well with people here. First the vigilante attitude of the minister, and second a CM doing theatrics on the road," Jayant Ramanathan, a government employee in Chennai, said.
Bad press but a good political push? Kejriwal during his two day long dharna. Naresh Sharma/ Firstpost
Others believe that the rally has helped get the AAP get eyeballs in a region where they aren't as established.
"I spoke to people the last couple of days about this and for the first time there are people who are taking notice of the Aam Aadmi party here," a journalist with a Tamil daily, who preferred to remain anonymous, said.
Sociologist Dipankar Gupta said he believed it was too early to asses the impact of the rally on people outside Delhi.
"It's tough to say it has a monochromic effect. In a way it's a good thing for AAP. In many other places there are people who are for the first time taking notice of the party and that because a chief minister has come own on the street to protest," he said.
"Probably some people outside Delhi, who were following AAP felt betrayed, but at the same time the CM's action has resonated with people as he has been protesting for valid causes," Gupta said.
"The common people are still not thinking as negative as the media," he added.
The way the event was reported in the media did not go down well with many of the aam aadmi of Delhi. Beyond Twitter and Facebook users, many claim to have sensed a 'bigger conspiracy'. Kejriwal's statements on the second day of the protest, against the media, was convincing enough for many. Many in the lower and lower middle class were willing to believe the AAP chief's statements that the party is a victim of the existing political system and the media was working against the party.
"Kejriwal has exposed what the media is doing. It is scared, because the people who are running it are scared as they fear their corruption will be exposed," Nandram, a resident from Sangam Vihar, who participated in the rally said.
The distrust of the media was also evident with instances of scuffles between journalists and AAP activists being reported at the site of the protest.
Despite many retaining their faith in the AAP even after the protest rally, others find themselves slightly disillusioned with the party, but haven't completely lost hope yet.
"Such behaviour I expect from outfits like Ram Sene and other fringe groups. Even the BJP in Delhi does not indulge into such moral policing," Apoorva Mishra, an employee with a private bank, said.
"I still think there is a point in voting for AAP or giving them a chance but they should really keep a check on such attitudes by their lower level leaders and general cadres," he said.
Some political analysts believe the protest would give the AAP a much needed thrust outside Delhi.
"As the events unfold it has exposed a few people like Kiran Bedi. Today she is calling Kejriwal names, but two years back she was doing the same thing from Anna's stage," Kumar Ketkar, political analyst and editor of Dainik Divya Marathi, told Firstpost.
Ketkar said he believed statements from Bedi and others criticising the protest rally would only strengthen support for Kejriwal and AAP.
"However, it will have multiple and various effects across the country. This type of protest will make him more popular in northern India, but in places like Mumbai or Bangalore this might hurt them," he said.
Ketkar also believes that Kejriwal's action as a CM who isn't afraid to take protests to the street will set a new precedent in Indian politics.
"He has managed to bring politics out on the streets from the cushy rooms. After the CPM in the late 1970s and Mamata Banerjee, India hasn't witnessed such political mobilisation on the streets. Even Rahul Gandhi had to concede that probably AAP's method was wrong but their demand was valid," Ketkar said.
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