3.00 pm: Now political rivals thrown black ink at Kejriwal
After pelting his entourage with eggs, political rivals, presumably BJP workers who have been protesting at all corners of Varanasi, now lobbed black ink at Kejriwal. Though Kejriwal's political opponents, especially BJP, had maintained a dignified silence till now over Kejriwal's Varanasi visit to seek public opinion about taking on Modi, things seem to be heating up just before the AAP chief's address.
NDTV tweeted out an image of Kejriwal's vehicle splattered with ink.
From the amount of ink dripping off the posters on Kejriwal's tour vehicle, it is clear that his opponents had come armed with a lot of it to make sure Kejriwal and his party colleagues' face is blackened. It's important to be reminded here that Varanasi, in itself, has no valid reason to grudge Kejriwal except for BJP workers feeling miffed that he has dared to challenge Modi in the ground chosen by the Gujarat CM.
It is not clear if the high command approves of the ambush. While protests before political rallies by opponents is not something new, a sustained day-long campaign to disrupt and attack a party's rally is somewhat new to the political narrative of the country.
Kejriwal, with his new found political cunning and wisdom, will possibly not let the BJP get away with this. He had already declared that Modi was shaken by his entry into Gujarat and hence got him 'detained' by the police. With the BJP workers trying all ugly tricks in the book to attack the AAP leader, who is out on a routine political rally like any other party, AAP has got something they will advertise and refer to by AAP as political intolerance for some time to come.
In fact, by attacking him the BJP workers seem to be conveying that Kejriwal's presence in a constituency of Modi's choice is not just unwelcome, but is also unsettling.
2.36 pm: Benia Bagh Maidan sees a throng of AAP supporters
A live video being streamed on YouTube shows a sizable crowd in the Benia Bagh grounds. Though none of the popular AAP leaders have turned up yet, people are seen slowly filling up the grounds, their Gandhi topis bobbing like a white sea under the scorching sun. However, it seems like party supporters are the ones who have turned up at the grounds, not too many curious onlookers.
A local AAP worker is trying to set the tone for the rally by reminding the crowd of a similar gathering at the Ramlila Maidan in Delhi, where AAP had organised several meetings. "That rally set the stage for the change of guard in Delhi. This rally will set the stage for the change of guard in the country," he says.
The leader then lashes out at the BJP and Modi's alleged megalomania by saying that if people vote for BJP, they will vote for one person. "They are saying themselves that the government will be a Modi government, not a BJP government or NDA. It will be one man's government, one man will run the country. The party which doesn't care about its own senior members, how will they care about people of the country," the leader questioned.
1.35 pm: Attackers identified as BJP workers
No prizes for guessing this one. One a NaMo land, always a NaMo land is what the Gujarat CM's supporters believe. Onviously not taking Kejriwal's intrusion into their leader's claimed territory lightly, they countered the AAP entourage at several points, shouting 'Kejriwal wapas jao' slogans.
PTI reports: "Arvind Kejrival today faced protests allegedly by BJP workers after he arrived here to kickstart his campaign against Narendra Modi. Kejriwal, who arrived here by Shivganga express train, faced an angry mob of BJP workers at different points in the town shouting slogans of "Kejriwal vapas jao" and "Kejriwal murdabad". He first faced opposition by the BJP workers at Tagore town colony in Bhojubir locality where he halted at a party worker's residence and later faced similar opposition at Baba Kal Bhairon temple in Vishesehwarganj locality. The AAP workers retaliated by raising anti-Modi slogans, a party official said."
Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party supporters have started trooping into the rally venue.
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.
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.
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.
