Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Live: Kejriwal’s car, supporters pelted with eggs in Varanasi

12.35 pm: Eggs thrown at Kejriwal

So the opponents are neither lying low nor the gods listening to Kejriwal in Varanasi! After making rounds of the temples are seeking the blessings of Mother Ganga, Kejriwal was greeted with eggs in Varanasi. CNN IBN reports that his car was pelted with eggs and some of his more unfortunate supporters were hit by them. However, it has not been confirmed, which of Kejriwal's many admirers have decided to throw eggs at him.

 

11.49 am: Kejriwal braves crowds and cameras to take a dip in Ganga Kejriwal, clad in a green checked lungi took a dip in the Ganga in Varanasi. ANI tweeted out a picture of him.

11.01 am: No 'har har Kejriwal' for AAP

After the 'Har Har Modi' slogan by the Gujarat CM's enamoured supporters left him and his party in the dock, the Aam Aadmi Party decided to play it safe and play to the galleries at the same time. Since the Shankaracharya of the Dwarka Peeth, rapped BJP by saying that it is not right to use a refrain used for Lord Shiva's worship for hailing Modi's power, Kejriwal's party decided to rub a little salt in BJP's wounds.

Though Kejriwal has slowly warmed up to the idea of religion as a poll plank with great impact, the party hasn't, till now not let religion eclipse its other agendas. However, as soon as Kejriwal landed in Varanasi it went on to applaud and celebrate Hinduism in full steam.

In fact, the party deserted its own slogan and workers accompanying Kejriwal in his city tour has kept on chanting 'Har Har Mahadev', keeping with the city's high regard for the Hindu god. Till now, the AAP has played it well!

10.40 am: AAP supporters throng Varanasi, tweet out pictures

Kejriwal's followers, AAP cap et al, have been tweeting out pictures of them touring Varanasi. CNN IBN reports that Kejriwal, formerly a self-proclaimed atheist, has taken a dip in the holy Ganga and sought blessings of Mother Ganga for what he calls is his 'mission'.

Kejriwal is slated to address a Jansabha (voters' assembly) at Benia Bagh in Varanasi. The AAP chief also visited the Bhairon Mandir and sought blessings there, sporting an orange tika like other believers. From his itinerary at least, it has become clear that in Varanasi at least, Kejriwal wants to portray himself as as aam devotee, respectful of the religious order, craving its endorsement, as any other average Indian Hindu.

Kejriwal arrives on Varanasi. Pic tweeted out by AAP.

Kejriwal arrives on Varanasi. Pic tweeted out by AAP.

10.20 am: If Modi loses, he should go back to Gujarat, says Kejriwal

Speaking to CNN IBN while on his way to Varanasi, Kejriwal said, "Imagine if Modi loses from Varanasi, the country will be saved from having him as the Prime Minister. I want to save the country. If Modi loses from Varanasi, he should go back to Gujarat." The Aam Aadmi Party will hold a 'referendum' - their now renowned and much-criticised strategy - to decide if Kejriwal should be contesting against Modi in Varanasi.

The odds against Kejriwal are steep - Varanasi has a sizable Hindu vote waiting to make its way to Modi's ballot box and it is a seat that the BJP has been winning for several elections now. Issues related to religion are bigger in dimension and impact than the revulsion for corruption here, the latter being Kejriwal's mainstay.

After its Ahmedabad disaster, where the police 'detained' Kejriwal, the BJP has been playing it cool in Varanasi. Despite Kejriwal's tall declarations, the party has neither responded to Kejriwal's challenge, not gone out of the way to take snide, indirect digs at him. While BJP's fans on Twitter have gone berserk as usual, not even a mildly significant leader has said anything about Kejriwal threat to combat Modi, leaving AAP to drum up all the noise by itself.

10.15 am: Will Kejriwal risk his poll fortunes for a direct combat with Modi?

Hoping to recreate his successful Delhi poll debut, where he defeated Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit by a huge margin, Arvind Kejriwal announced that he is ready to take on Narendra Modi from the Varanasi constituency.

However, he didn't formally announce his candidature from the constituency and instead declared he would hold a mega-rally in the Hindu pilgrim town to gauge the mood of the people there. The rally is all set to kick off today in Varanasi with Kejriwal, and AAP's social media team, warming up for it, rather scrupulously. Now most politicians on Twitter know better than paying attention to the over-enthusiastic, partly incoherent social media fanatics that every party nurtures.

Arvind Kejriwal. AFP.

Arvind Kejriwal. AFP.

You won't find a Narendra Modi or a Shashi Tharoor responding to either glowing praise or virulent attacks on them on Twitter. They won't, themselves, debunk or back the several improbable conspiracy theories floating around on the web. However, Kejriwal, either because he is edgy or because he wants a strong buzz before he lands in Varanasi, retweeted a tweet suggesting AAP is planning violence in Varanasi.

He also seemed to be drumming up buzz around issues he might possibly address in Varanasi. He posted a series of tweets on the Election Commission issuing notices to oil minister Veerappa Moily. The Times of India reports that senior leader Sanjay Singh has stationed himself in Varanasi over the past few weeks preparing for Kejriwal's mega rally.

The TOI report says: "Senior leaders like Sanjay Singh are camping in the city for the past two weeks, while more than 5,000 volunteers from across the state had reached Varanasi by Sunday evening and more are expected to arrive by Tuesday for the public meeting. The party has set a target of a crowd exceeding 1 lakh. "Unlike rallies of other parties, people here are coming on their own to listen to Kejriwal," claimed Rajesh Singh, a volunteer."

Incidentally, Varanasi has now started trending on Twitter and the AAP social media team is said to have started a new hashtag 'Chalo Benaras'. TOI observes that instead of Varanasi, the AAP team prefers calling the city Benaras to strike a chord with the thousands of people who prefer using the city's old-school name. Supporters have already started gathering at Varanasi and Twitter is slowly warming up to images of crowds headed towards Kejriwal's rally venue.

Now, it has to be seen if Kejriwal indeed takes on Modi in Varanasi and heralds a direct combat with the BJP or finds a way out to ensure an electoral win from some other less controversial constituency.


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