Arvind Kejriwal is hard to decipher. There's a degree of madness to his conduct, but it is difficult to find a method in that. He and his comrades have been hogging the limelight for several reasons, but it is not easy to find a pattern in these. He is in politics, but he does have no respect for power or position. He is a chief minister but does not seem inclined to settling down to the business of governance. He loves to wield the sledgehammer when subtler means of communicating a message would do. He is all combativeness and aggression all the time. That makes the task of judging him a complicated affair even for those who would be happy to give him the benefit of the doubt.
"Three months ago, I was a big fan of the AAP. I would have voted for its candidate blindly, if it fielded one in Navi Mumbai, irrespective of the fact whether he stood a chance of winning. I would still vote for the party if puts up a candidate here, but I have my doubts now. I still believe Kejriwal and members of his group are honest people, serious about corruption. However, many things they do don't make any sense at all. Just what are they up to?'' said a friend with some hint of exasperation. His could well be the representative sentiment of most AAP supporters.
Arvind Kejriwal. AFP image
"Just what are they up to?" This question has left many of the backers of the AAP confused. Surely, the party's biggest failure so far has been in conveying its intent to its supporters in a logical fashion. It has given them madness, but has failed to offer the logic behind its actions, making it difficult for them to argue with some conviction in its favour. None of Kejriwal's colleagues has yet bothered to explain the party's controversial actions. They have been busy playing the victim card. The approach was understandable when they were civil society activists demanding a Lokpal. Now that they are a political party in power, the sympathy ploy does not work.
Worse, the party's leaders appear careless about their supporters. 'You are either with us, or against us. If you are with us then better accept without question whatever we do'. This seems to be the patented standard operating procedure of Kejriwal & Co. This was their approach during the anti-corruption movement days and nothing much has changed even after they came to power riding on swelling public appreciation for their effort. Barring Yogendra Yadav, the party's philosopher-ideologue, not many seem capable of being polite - a necessary requirement when you have a big middle class support base - in their public conduct. The middle class is showing signs of unease and may drift away soon. The party is oblivious to it.
"What's the point being unnecessarily aggressive on everything? Some leaders come across as uncouth at times. They are behaving like a bunch of schoolboys who are suddenly in possession of something important. They are proving that they did not deserve it... We trust you on corruption even if we don't agree on Jan Lokpal fully. But what beyond that?'' said the friend. He has a point. Nothing else is known about the party's agenda for the future. And none of the leaders seems to have a clue. In the absence of that, some leaders of the party, which is yet to develop a chain of command, find aggression a saleable alternative.
Kejriwal is obsessed with Delhi. His unending fight with several forces in the National Capital has put a question mark on his party's plans elsewhere in the country. By the time he decides to expand the AAP's footprint, his supporters could have abandoned him. Public goodwill is an invaluable asset, but it comes with an expiry date attached. Kejriwal and AAP should not squander it.
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