The beginning of 2015 saw the rise of a new, and as many called it an unconventional power in the Indian Politics, the AAP which had an entity more or less concurrent with its convener, Arvind Kejriwal, ironically boasting of a pristine democratic structure, this ‘new phenomenon’ carried out its whole election campaign in a narcissist manner based on personality politics rather than policy politics. That being said, even the critics of AAP agree with one fact which is the unconventional manner in which social networking was taken up as a major tool of campaign, the youth and urban vote which comprised majority vote bank in Delhi became the major beneficiaries for Kejriwal and rode him to an unprecedented landslide victory in Delhi Assembly Elections.
Arvind Kejriwal Most Hated Indian: Did Social Networking turn into a double edged sword for Kejriwal?
Kejriwal won Delhi through intense campaign based on certain virtually impossible promises, making Delhi a fully Wi-Fi zone and that too for free, installing 15 Lakh Cameras, using Home Guards as an active force in DTC buses, raising a commando force through Home Guards, thereby forming a sort of alternate Police System for women safety and the list is endless. Soon the burden of these improbable promises got better of Kejriwal, the person who was the most lovable politician on the Internet in the initial phase of 2015, achieved the dubious feat of becoming the most hated Indian on the Internet by the end of 2015 as per ‘The Goonj India Index 2015: 7 deadly Indian Sins’. The people of India have thus shown that they are ever vigilant and in this modern era, a party cannot go unpunished after making false promises and then well simply blaming Modi for own incompetence. Following are the primary factors behind Kejriwal’s dubious feat.
Arvind Kejriwal Most Hated Indian: From being an Anti-Corruption Crusader to the Friend of Corrupt:
‘Power Corrupts and Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely’
The biggest reason behind the creation of AAP, as Kejriwal claims was to fight the prevalent corruption in Indian Administration; the seeds of AAP were sown in the Anna Movement which had received unimaginable public support from a country which was then fed up of a corrupt UPA regime, AAP thus earned the image of a party which would remain ‘clean’ in its political journey but the illusion was rather short lived, as the middle of 2015 saw Kejriwal starting a tryst with a ‘clean’ Lalu who had indeed very honestly gulped crores in the Chara Scam and earned the coveted title of ‘Chara Chor’. People of India, who may or may not have seen a hope in AAP after Delhi Elections soon deciphered that here is a party which had come to change the system, but the system changed it. His silence on the National Herald Case only corroborated the fact that being a part of anti Modi coalition is the priority of Kejriwal and not anti corruption as he still unabashedly claims.
Kejriwal was showered with love and affection because of his self acclaimed anti corruption crusade, though he did not take any substantial action against corruption he was eloquent about it and an electorate frustrated of everyday corruption garnered whole hearted support to him, but today he is hated even more than the convicted corrupts because by joining hands with the corrupt he has actually carried out an unthinkable perfidy and betrayal with not only the people of Delhi but the whole of India.
Arvind Kejriwal Most Hated Indian: A new Pseudo Secular Phenomenon:
During the Anna Movement and expansion of AAP people saw Kejriwal as an ‘unconventional’ politician or as AAP still claims itself to be ‘a party with a difference’, a necessary implication of such new sort of politics was that this party will not involve itself in the vote bank politics, one of the major evils and reasons for India’s backwardness, 2015 encountered us with a harsh reality as it changed AAP’s priorities from development and anti corruption to vote bank and power politics. His vote bank style of politics had actually started just before the Delhi Elections when he went on to blame the Central Government for Church Demolitions, later as it turned out 206 Temples were demolished in 2014 and 6 Churches were demolished in the same year according to an MHA report, well Kejriwal found it convenient to appeal the sentiments of a community which could be easily polarized. 2015 only saw him becoming more and more pseudo secular in nature, whether during his unprecedented visit to Dadri or spending of State Funds on Iftaar Parties or his speech in the Indo Islamic Cultural Centre where he emphatically promised to replicate the governance model of the Delhi Sultans, which he has actually fulfilled with his Tugluqi Farmans. Kejriwal has now become an ideal and liberal ‘RSS is responsible for everything in India’ politician.
The major factor behind his declining popularity is therefore, the fact that his initial anti corruption promises appears to be a mere hoax and has proved to be nothing more than another party riding its luck on vote bank politics.
Arvind Kejriwal Most Hated Indian: Confrontational Politics:
Kejriwal has shown an irresistible need of comparing himself with PM Narendra Modi, a leader much taller and experienced compared to him in stature, moreover, post the Delhi Elections the PM has never personally commented upon Kejriwal but it is Kejriwal who has shown the impulse of dragging in the Prime Minister, the Lt. Governor of Delhi and the Commissioner of Delhi Police on all accounts of Delhi Government’s failures arising out of the incompetency of Delhi CM and his Council of Ministers. Having a political ambition is not objectionable but such ambitions become a cause of worry when it takes precedence over National or Public Interests which sadly is the case with Delhi.
This Confrontational attitude reached an intolerable level when Kejriwal went on to call the PM psychopath and coward over a CBI raid. Though the mainstream Media might have failed to see an uncomfortable yet clear sense of political anguish and vulgarity with such statements, the social networking users noticed it instantly. This confrontational attitude did not end with Kejriwal’s unnecessary anguish over the CBI raid but took the form of a make believe DDCA Scam by the Finance Minister Jaitley and the person behind India’s speedy economic recovery became the next target of Kejriwal followed by an illegally constituted one member Judicial Probe by Kejriwal which despite of Kejriwal Sir convicting Jaitley went on to give clean chit to Jaitley in the most blasphemous manner.
Arvind Kejriwal Most Hated Indian: Incessant Need of Publicity:
Arvind Kejriwal has without an iota of doubt has emerged as the Lalu of Delhi, a politician who can stoop to any level for cheap publicity, whether on account of his incessant need of giving movie reviews or showing the joy of eating Paan in Bengali Market after many days when the Nation was grieving over the martyrdom of its valiant soldiers in the Pathankot Attack, the crust of public hatred arises out of a single factor, Kejriwal failed to decipher how the Internet has to be used post the Delhi Elections, he wanted to use it for gaining popularity but it has badly backfired, and interestingly people have started questioning the need of such acts especially when the nature is passing through a state of grief.
Conclusion:
There are numerous reasons behind public hatred towards Kejriwal which have translated into hatred at Social Networking platform, a typical AAP supporter may refute it and claim that ‘Bhakts’ have actually carried out this campaign against Kejriwal, but even then we cannot dismiss a substantial population which votes for BJP in State Assembly Elections and those who have actually voted BJP into power as Bhakts, after all even they are citizens of India.
Such hatred actually has a positive side, it indicates that at least in the Urban and Semi-Urban zones of India, electorate is becoming increasingly aware of the Political Discourse and it is only the beginning of an emerging trend, the inseparable role of Social Networking in the Politics of India.
Title image credits: India.com
