Lok Sabha Election 2014 to be held in mid April: EC sources

The Lok Sabha polls will be held between mid-April and early May in five or six phases and will involve about 800 million voters, highly-placed sources in the Election Commission said today.

Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim will also elect their state assemblies along with the Lok Sabha elections.

"The announcement of the poll schedule will be done in the last days of February or at best the first two-three days of March," the sources told PTI.

During the 2009 polls, there were 714 million voters as against 671 million voters in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections.

Reuters

Before the announcement for polls, the Lok Sabha may meet for one last time to pass a vote-on-account budget to enable expenditure for six months of the new fiscal year 2014-15 so that the new government is given time to present a full-fledged budget in the next Parliament.

There is also speculation that a special session of Parliament may be convened shortly to pass anti-corruption measures by the government in the run up to the elections.

The term of the current Lok Sabha expires on 1 June and the new House has to be constituted by 31 May.

The Commission is looking into the issue of whether to spread the elections over five phases or may be one more phase.

"We already have a list of electoral rolls. We need to update it. We expect that before January end, the lists will be ready," a top EC official said.

A total of 1.1 crore poll personnel, half of them security personnel, will be deployed for the smooth conduct of polls and to ensure that they are free and fair.

Other work in the run-up to the announcement of the poll schedule is in full swing. Dates are being considered for a meeting with the Union Home Secretary for finalising deployment plans of central para-military forces before the announcement of the poll schedule.

Chief Electoral Officers of various states are also holding separate meetings with DGPs of states for availability of state police forces for polls.

The EC is also working on finalising the polling stations for elections. At least 8 lakh polling stations are to be set up for polling across the country.

The poll body is working out last-minute changes in polling stations for the convenience of both voters and poll staff.

Preparations for deployment of around 12 lakh electronic voting machines are also being made and the Commission is likely to get another 2.5 lakh new EVMs by mid-February which it had ordered with various public-sector companies.

The last Lok Sabha polls were held in five phases from April 16 to May 13 and the counting of votes was done on 16 May, 2009. The announcement for the last Lok sabha polls was done on 2 March, 2009.

PTI

Arvind Kejriwal is no Narendra Modi, says dismissive BJP

Bhubaneswar: Senior BJP leader and the party's Odisha in-charge Chandan Mitra said it would be inappropriate to state that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was greater than Narendra Modi, though the Aam Admi Party (AAP) leader registered a great achievement within a short span of time.

"AAP happens to be a regional party with virtually no presence outside Delhi, while Modi is undoubtedly a national icon who has created a wave across the country," Mitra said.

Mitra's comments come even as AAP said that it planned to contest the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, and announced a mass membership drive from 10 January.

He also however, dismissed the possibility of a 'third front' victory.

Dubbing hopes of forming a Third Front ahead of the elections an "illusion", BJP today said the party would dethrone the "scam tainted" Congress government at the Centre and the BJD in Odisha.

"Hopes for formation of a Third Front is an illusion. It can never happen. Similar experiments in the past have failed miserably,"

PTI

"Even if the Third Front is formed, nobody knows who will be its leader", the BJP MP added.

"While the AIADMK wants its leader to be Prime Minister, Trinamool Congress is keen to see Mamata Banerjee as PM and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik (is) daydreaming for the top post -- these will never materialise," he said.

Foreseeing infighting among the forces seeking to form a new front, Mitra said the country had seen the outcome of governments headed by HD Deve Gowda and IK Gujral.

Claiming that the 'Modi wave' was building up all over the county, Mitra said this was the best time to dislodge the "rampantly corrupt and inefficient government of Naveen Patnaik in Odisha and Manmohan Singh's scam tainted regime in Delhi."

BJP under Modi's leadership will contest the polls on two planks of anti corruption and development, Mitra said.

"It is the party's conviction that India's golden age along with that of Odisha will dawn after the 2014 elections, when BJP will come to power both at the Centre and the state," he said.

PTI

AAP sets sights on 2014: Mass membership drive from 10 Jan

Outlining the pre-poll organisational strategy for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, AAP leader Yogendra Yadav today said that the party will soon launch a pan-India membership drive to give fillip to its cadre strength.

"We will begin our nationwide membership drive from 10 -26 January. The membership drive will be called Mein Bhi Aam Aadmi. We have also suspended the fee of Rs 10 for joining the party," Yadav told a press conference at the Constitution Club in New Delhi.

AAP workers. AFP

Saying that AAP leader Gopal Rai will head the membership drive, Yadav said a central core committee will look into into all the key aspects of preparation for the Lok Sabha polls.

"A three-member National Campaign Co-ordination Committee will look into the manifesto, fund raising and other functions related to the polls. The committee will have AAP national leaders Sanjay Singh, Pankaj Gupta and myself as its members initially. We are going to include more people later on," he said.

Talking about the manifesto, the AAP member said, "The manifesto should be out by March. We will also encourage a constituency wise manifesto if anybody can bring it out."

The AAP leader made it clear that getting a party ticket for fighting the Lok Sabha polls will be an impossible task if the prospective candidates who seek tickets are not squeaky clean in public life.

"Anybody across the nation can fill the form to contest elections on a AAP ticket. There will a party screening committee on state level. People can apply for candidature for Lok Sabha polls till 15 January which will be then screened at the state level. AAP will nominate candidates for Lok Sabha polls once they clear the screening process," Yadav said.

The AAP leader said that the first list of party candidates should be available in public sphere between 15-20 January.

The party is also looking into possibilities of raising funds to contest the Lok Sabha polls.

"We fought the Delhi elections with Rs 20 crore. More funds are needed to fight the Lok Sabha elections," he said.

Revealing its Haryana plans, Yadav said that the party is likely to contest in all the 90-Assembly seats.

"Elections in Haryana are scheduled in October. But if it happens earlier then AAP will contest the elections on all the seats of the state," the AAP leader said.

The Delhi euphoria is yet to die down within the party circles as it turned out to be one of the major causes inspiring the party to attempt a national footprint.

"AAP's performance in Delhi is a ray hope in the country," Yadav said.

AAP for 2014: Yogendra Yadav outlines national strategy

Outlining the pre-poll organisational strategy for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, AAP leader Yogendra Yadav today said that the party will soon launch a pan-India membership drive to give fillip to its cadre strength.

"We will begin our nationwide membership drive from 10 -26 January. The membership drive will be called Mein Bhi Aam Aadmi. We have also suspended the fee of Rs 10 for joining the party," Yadav told a press conference at the Constitution Club in New Delhi.

AAP workers. AFP

Saying that AAP leader Gopal Rai will head the membership drive, Yadav said a central core committee will look into into all the key aspects of preparation for the Lok Sabha polls.

"A three-member National Campaign Co-ordination Committee will look into the manifesto, fund raising and other functions related to the polls. The committee will have AAP national leaders Sanjay Singh, Pankaj Gupta and myself as its members initially. We are going to include more people later on," he said.

Talking about the manifesto, the AAP member said, "The manifesto should be out by March. We will also encourage a constituency wise manifesto if anybody can bring it out."

The AAP leader made it clear that getting a party ticket for fighting the Lok Sabha polls will be an impossible task if the prospective candidates who seek tickets are not squeaky clean in public life.

"Anybody across the nation can fill the form to contest elections on a AAP ticket. There will a party screening committee on state level. People can apply for candidature for Lok Sabha polls till 15 January which will be then screened at the state level. AAP will nominate candidates for Lok Sabha polls once they clear the screening process," Yadav said.

The AAP leader said that the first list of party candidates should be available in public sphere between 15-20 January.

The party is also looking into possibilities of raising funds to contest the Lok Sabha polls.

"We fought the Delhi elections with Rs 20 crore. More funds are needed to fight the Lok Sabha elections," he said.

Revealing its Haryana plans, Yadav said that the party is likely to contest in all the 90-Assembly seats.

"Elections in Haryana are scheduled in October. But if it happens earlier then AAP will contest the elections on all the seats of the state," the AAP leader said.

The Delhi euphoria is yet to die down within the party circles as it turned out to be one of the major causes inspiring the party to attempt a national footprint.

"AAP's performance in Delhi is a ray hope in the country," Yadav said.

No question of compromising on corruption: Kejriwal

New Delhi: Making it clear that there will be no compromise on corruption, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today said anyone embroiled in corrupt practices will not be spared be it Sheila Dikshit, any BJP member or even his own party member.

Kejriwal, whose AAP is ruling Delhi with the outside support of eight Congress MLAs, said, "BJP leader Harsh Vardhan has asked me to take action against Sheila Dikshit. I asked him to provide evidence and I would take action."

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. PTI

"We will not spare anyone involved in corruption. There is no question of compromising with corruption. I will put my entire life on stake to fight it, whether it is Sheila Dikshit, any other minister, any bureaucrat, BJP or Congress member or even any of my own party member," he told reporters
before his party's National Executive Meeting in New Delhi.

He said his government is overhauling the state vigilance department which was lying in the dumps and made "non-existent" by the previous government.

"Out of 30 inspectors only 11 are posted. There are vacancies at every level involving ACP, DCP and SI posts. The department needs overhauling, we are trying to strengthen the department and identifying the honest officers, " he said.

Kejriwal charged that the cases raised by the Anti-corruption Department or the State Vigilance Commission were never taken up and brushed under the carpet.

On the CWG scam, the chief minister said, "In November 2010, I had prepared a 370-page report on CWG scam which contains evidence on corrupt practices during the Games. It doesn't mention any names. The report was based on newspaper reports."

He said he is working towards launching a helpline to register corruption-related complaints and will ensure swift action on the complaints received.

Kejriwal said his party will contest the maximum number of seats in Lok Sabha polls, but he will not contest the general elections.

PTI

AAP blows poll bugle for national stage, forms 3-member core unit

Outlining the pre-poll organisational strategy for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, AAP leader Yogendra Yadav today said that the party will soon launch a pan-India membership drive to give fillip to its cadre strength.

"We will begin our nationwide membership drive from 10 -26 January. The membership drive will be called Mein Bhi Aam Aadmi. We have also suspended the fee of Rs 10 for joining the party," Yadav told a press conference at the Constitution Club in New Delhi.

AAP workers. AFP

Saying that AAP leader Gopal Rai will head the membership drive, Yadav said a central core committee will look into into all the key aspects of preparation for the Lok Sabha polls.

"A three-member National Campaign Co-ordination Committee will look into the manifesto, fund raising and other functions related to the polls. The committee will have AAP national leaders Sanjay Singh, Pankaj Gupta and myself as its members initially. We are going to include more people later on," he said.

Talking about the manifesto, the AAP member said, "The manifesto should be out by March. We will also encourage a constituency wise manifesto if anybody can bring it out."

The AAP leader made it clear that getting a party ticket for fighting the Lok Sabha polls will be an impossible task if the prospective candidates who seek tickets are not squeaky clean in public life.

"Anybody across the nation can fill the form to contest elections on a AAP ticket. There will a party screening committee on state level. People can apply for candidature for Lok Sabha polls till 15 January which will be then screened at the state level. AAP will nominate candidates for Lok Sabha polls once they clear the screening process," Yadav said.

The party is also looking into possibilities of raising funds to contest the Lok Sabha polls.

"We fought the Delhi elections with Rs 20 crore. More funds are needed to fight the Lok Sabha elections," he said.

Revealing its Haryana plans, Yadav said that the party is likely to contest in all the 90-Assembly seats.

"Elections in Haryana are scheduled in October. But if it happens earlier then AAP will contest the elections on all the seats of the state," the AAP leader said.

The Delhi euphoria is yet to die down within the party circles as it turned out to be one of the major causes inspiring the party to attempt a national footprint.

"AAP's performance in Delhi is a ray hope in the country," Yadav said.

AAP blows poll bugle for national stage, membership drive from 10 Jan

Outlining the pre-poll organisational strategy for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, AAP leader Yogendra Yadav today said that the party will soon launch a pan-India membership drive to give fillip to its cadre strength.

"We will begin our nationwide membership drive from 10 -26 January. The membership drive will be called Mein Bhi Aam Aadmi. We have also suspended the fee of Rs 10 for joining the party," Yadav told a press conference at the Constitution Club in New Delhi.

AAP workers. AFP

Saying that AAP leader Gopal Rai will head the membership drive, Yadav said a central core committee will look into into all the key aspects of preparation for the Lok Sabha polls.

"A three-member National Campaign Co-ordination Committee will look into the manifesto, fund raising and other functions related to the polls. The committee will have AAP national leaders Sanjay Singh, Pankaj Gupta and myself as its members initially. We are going to include more people later on," he said.

Talking about the manifesto, the AAP member said, "The manifesto should be out by March. We will also encourage a constituency wise manifesto if anybody can bring it out."

The AAP leader made it clear that getting a party ticket for fighting the Lok Sabha polls will be an impossible task if the prospective candidates who seek tickets are not squeaky clean in public life.

"Anybody across the nation can fill the form to contest elections on a AAP ticket. There will a party screening committee on state level. People can apply for candidature for Lok Sabha polls till 15 January which will be then screened at the state level. AAP will nominate candidates for Lok Sabha polls once they clear the screening process," Yadav said.

The party is also looking into possibilities of raising funds to contest the Lok Sabha polls.

"We fought the Delhi elections with Rs 20 crore. More funds are needed to fight the Lok Sabha elections," he said.

Revealing its Haryana plans, Yadav said that the party is likely to contest in all the 90-Assembly seats.

"Elections in Haryana are scheduled in October. But if it happens earlier then AAP will contest the elections on all the seats of the state," the AAP leader said.

The Delhi euphoria is yet to die down within the party circles as it turned out to be one of the major causes inspiring the party to attempt a national footprint.

"AAP's performance in Delhi is a ray hope in the country," Yadav said.

After Delhi, AAP to overturn Maharashtra poll alliances next?

As Maharashtra's main political players, the Congress-NCP alliance and BJP-Shiv Sena combine, brace for the Lok Sabha and subsequent state assembly polls this year, they will have to contend with a new opponent, the Aam Aadmi Party, which has decided to take the electoral plunge in a big way.

Arvind Kejriwal's AAP, which made an electrifying electoral debut in the Delhi polls forming its government in the very first outing, has set up its units in all 35 districts of Maharashtra and is trying to penetrate deeper to taluka level and beyond.

AAP already has a significant potential support base in the state, which is not new to aggressive social activism, courtesy the Gandhian and others like Medha Patkar.

PTI

"We have put in place structured committees in all the 35 districts in the state. In some talukas too, we are building a base, while we are working to set up committees at polling booth level," AAP leader Mayank Gandhi, a key member of Team-Kejriwal told PTI.

The party, which galvanised ordinary voters, particularly the youth through its aggressive and sustained campaign through the social media, has already constituted 14 state-level committees for managing the elections in the state.

These committees include experts in media management, volunteer training, manifesto drafting among others.

The party is, however, yet to decide on the number of candidates it would field in the Lok Sabha polls from the state which sends 48 MPs, second to Uttar Pradesh (80).

When asked about the leadership issue in the state, Gandhi said AAP has a collective leadership with Anjali Damania as the state convenor.

"All our leaders at the district level are mass leaders who have been working in their areas for a long time.

AAP is attracting not just professionals like Meera Sanyal (Royal Bank of Scotland CEO) and Sameer Nair (former chief executive of Star TV) but also dabbawalas, hawkers and autorickshaw unions," he said.

The two major alliances had collectively won 45 of the state's 48 Lok Sabha seats in 2009. While the Congress-NCP combine had pocketed 25 seats, Shiv Sena-BJP had bagged 20.

Though only time will tell how AAP fares in the polls, leaders of the Congress-NCP alliance do not give the year-old political outfit much of a chance because of lack of a strong local leadership.

When asked to comment on AAP's plans in the state, Nawab Malik, NCP spokesman told PTI every party has the right to expand its base.

"All elections are a challenge irrespective of who is the opponent. AAP-type experiments have happened many times in the state. People look for leaders who work among them, leaders need to have a connect with the grassroots rather than just do the talking.

"Maharashtra politics is about farmers issues, co-operative movement, educational institutions which have helped politicians to stay connected with the people. Past experiences show political waves across the country have stopped in the state like the Janata Party wave and VP Singh wave," he said.

The principal opposition -- BJP-Shiv Sena alliance -- is hoping to capitalise on the charisma of Narendra Modi and the controversy surrounding the Adarsh scam and accusations of grave irregularities in irrigation schemes during the Congress-NCP rule to return a sizable number of MPs from the state and also return to power in Maharashtra.

The Shiv Sena-BJP alliance had formed its government after the 1995 elections.

With the exception of the saffron alliance's rule between March 1995 and October 1999, and July 1978 and February 1980 when Sharad Pawar broke away from Congress and formed his Progressive Democratic Front government with the opposition parties, the state has always had a Congress or Congress-led dispensation.

"Modi's projection as BJP's prime ministerial candidate can make some difference but, as of now, we don't see a miracle happening," a Congress leader said, citing the party's long stint in power in the state.

"Maharashtra is a multi-party polity and votes get divided among four major parties -- Congress, NCP, Shiv Sena and BJP. RPI factions, Samajwadi Party, JD(S) and BSP also have influence in certain pockets. Now, there is MNS which is aiming to expand its base. All eyes will be on AAP after its stunning debut in the Delhi polls," political observers say.

The BJP, upbeat after its recent successes in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, is hoping to repeat its performance in both the Lok Sabha and Maharashtra assembly polls.

"For us Maharashtra is an important state. In 1999, Sena-BJP won 33 out of 48 seats which helped NDA form its government at the Centre. We are aiming at repeating that performance and even better it. Our target is 33-35 seats," a senior BJP leader said.

As part of its strategy to win maximum seats, BJP is in the process of bringing smaller parties like Peasants and Workers Party (PWP) and Shetkari Sangthana, who have influence in one or two seats, in the alliance.

"There are some seats BJP or Shiv Sena find difficult to win despite best efforts like Sangli where we can support Shetkari Sangthana," the leader said.

According to BJP leaders, the issue of factionalism in the state unit has been sorted out and the impressive turnout at a recent rally of Narendra Modi showed that the party worked unitedly.

"We were able to project a cohesive face. In the Lok Sabha elections, Modi will be the face of the party and hence there is no question of projecting anyone at the state level.

The assembly elections are many months away," he said.

Though BJP leaders like Nitin Gadkari have mooted the idea of a grand BJP-Shiv Sena-MNS alliance, there has been no forward movement in that direction.

"Nobody has approached us (for alliance) nor have we approached anyone. We are in the process of finalising the list of Lok Sabha constituencies and candidates. Even though we are yet to finalise the number of seats to be contested, it will be definitely more than 12 which we fought in 2009," a senior MNS leader said.

"Our concern is to strengthen our cadre in the entire state and empower the voters who love Raj Thackeray. His agenda is Maharashtra and not national politics," he said when pointed out that saffron votes split because of multiple parties.

Criticising the Sena-BJP alliance for its "failure" to take on the ruling Congress-NCP combine aggressively, he said if at all a change has to happen in Maharashtra it would be because of peoples' anger against the non-performing government.

"The principal opposition parties have failed to highlight the shortcomings of the government. MNS feels it is a good alternative to Shiv Sena-BJP alliance," he said.

Congress leaders feel that despite the anti-incumbency factor the ruling alliance's network of cadre in sugar co-operatives, co-operative banks and educational institutions would stand them in good stead.

"Besides, the opposition in the state is weak and divided.

BJP and Shiv Sena are faction ridden," they said, adding the Lok Sabha and Legislative Assembly polls would test the mettle of Uddhav Thackeray as a leader as Shiv Sena would be going to hustings for the first time in the absence of Bal Thackeray.

PTI

 

Congress’ anti-people policies destroyed country: Ramdev

New Delhi: Claiming that Congress's "anti-people policies" had "destroyed the country", yoga guru Ramdev came out in firm support of Narendra Modi's bid to become the prime minister even as he outlined a list of proposals for the Gujarat chief minister to consider if he won power at the Centre.

If Modi becomes prime minister, he should abolish all kinds of taxes and bring in a single tax in the form of Banking Transaction Tax, Ramdev said on Saturday.

Baba Ramdev. Reuters

"On behalf of the 1.25 billion Indians, we want you (Modi) to announce 'economic freedom' in the country. We expect that once you come to power, you will abolish all taxes and implement 1 to 2 percent Banking Transaction Tax," Ramdev said.

He was talking about a programme he has organised at Talkatora Ground today which is to be addressed by Modi along with BJP president Rajnath Singh and senior party leader Arun Jaitley.

Ramdev further said that once he succeeds in coming to power, Modi should also announce that he would constitute a National Farmer Income Commission for the 60 crore farmers in the country based on income policy instead of price policy.

He added that he expects Modi to declare the black money being held by Indians in foreign banks to be national wealth and bring it back.

PTI

Delhi govt plans schemes for labourers, contract workers

New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party government is initiating steps to implement welfare schemes for unorganised sectors workers in the city with an aim to fulfill another poll promise.

The Delhi Building and Other Construction Welfare Board, constituted by previous Congress government on 2 September 2002, at present has an unutilised amount of over Rs 1,200 crore and the new Labour Minister Girish Soni plans to use it under new schemes.

Delhi Labour Minister Girish Soni. Image courtesy AAP

"Construction work labourers are the most exploited section and their condition is pathetic. A major chunk of the group are migrated people. They don't have any facilities. They are not educated and not aware of their rights," he said.

The minister plans to utilise the money under a new scheme to ensure social security for unorganised sector workers along with regulating their wages and working hours.

He also held a meeting recently with the Commissioner of the labour department.

The total cess collected by the board up to November 11, 2013 is Rs 1,256 crore and the expenditure on welfare schemes till now has been Rs 37.41 crore, Soni said.

In a bid to make jobs for contract labourers permanent, for which the party garnered huge support, Soni has also directed all government departments to send them the lists of contract workers.

"There are people who have been working for long but their jobs have not been regularised and they work on contract. Once I get the data we will chalk out a strategy to regularise them," Soni added.

According to officials, Delhi Electric Supply Undertaking Mazdoor Sangh (workers union) general secretary Balbir Singh also met Labour Minister demanding elimination of contract labour in power distribution companies.

In its manifesto AAP had stated, "No contractual jobs for work that is required 365 days a year; ensuring implementation of minimum wages."

PTI

What’s this brouhaha about Kejriwal’s bungalow?

The ongoing brouhaha over the bungalow for Delhi's new chief minister Arvind Kejriwal  is being magnified  and here is how – he is being allocated a Central government owned duplex to live in and an identical one next door for what is called a camp office.

His two bungalows put together do not make for huge real estate and is not being provided so that the  leader of the aam aadmi  could live in  luxury. He currently lives in a four-bedroom housing allocated to his wife, an Indian Revenue Service official. His upgrade is by just one bedroom.

The other is for his work . Such additional workplaces are standard provision and practice as it cuts down on time and adds to the efficiency of the entire outfit Kejriwal leads. Of course, a camp office means the officials have to flit around from the secretariat to the CMO to the camp office.

Reuters

The bungalow that was Sheila Dikshit's home for 15 years has both the residence and the camp office within one. Here, they are separate blocks and that's just about it. Their functions blur the home-workplace division and nothing could better illustrate that than what  Anjaiah, Andhra Chief Minister had once lamented about.

They were less security-sensitive days and people had free access to the leaders. He is the person who was insulted by Rajiv Gandhi leading to Telugu Desam's emergence. One day, a person seeking a job had knocked on his bathroom door, interrupting his shower. "Even my toilet is my office", he had told me.

Before we chide Kejriwal – which I have no inclination to –one has to only ignore the huge Lutyen's Delhi and look at the residences of the district magistrates or district collectors. They are huge enough to keep some rooms locked. A chief minister's job requires him to summon meetings, call officials, at all and any hour of the day or night depending on the exigencies of the circumstances.

Despite governments seen as slow-moving, tangled in red tape, time a flexible concept, the CM's office – and home – is a place that hums. This is why they have big offices, extensive staff, and at  the very place they live in, and it is called a camp office. A CM's work follows him home and I have seen many reading files in their cars. Those who don't are slackers, which is worse than red tape.

A camp office, as the word could suggest, is not a tent or merely a room or a simple study. For this elected person, the office at home is a virtual replication of his actual office.  A conference table to seat the cabinet with departmental officials is required. Their personal assistants and drivers work in shifts.

This brouhaha, lamenting that Kejriwal was quickly drifting away from the aama admi type of life style, betrays a misunderstanding of a chief minister's functions. They are not limited to making speeches and cutting ribbons and providing bytes to the by now ubiquitous television cameras. They have things to do which are not seen from outside. Even if he is leading a government of a party avowedly of the common man, he cannot be expected to do that from a smaller apartment in which we mango people are settled in. By moving him to a smaller place,  officials and politicians are  depriving his family of their deserved privacy. As it is, they would get fewer quality hours from a CM.

Refusing the official residence which Dikshit had occupied was a gesture to the people, even a tokenism, that he was downsizing the privileges the chief minister was entitled to. It does not mean that he moved to  government quarters elsewhere where the callers can't have a place to park in.

These gestures are not empty. Like deciding not to have beacons on the cars used by the ministers is not. It drives home a point that the leader is sensitive to the discomfort caused to the ordinary persons. That does not mean they should not have government cars. They need to travel in their official duties.

So once it is understood that his upgrade is not as big as is being made out on the misunderstanding that Kejriwal was getting two bungalows, of which the second one was only a facilitator for his work, the grumbles should cease. Just because he is now a chief minister is no reason why he should be put to discomfort.