While surveys had predicted that Arvind Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will win the Delhi Assembly election, no one really expected that the victory would have such an impact, with other parties virtually being wiped out. In the coming days, there is bound to be discussions and investigations as to why Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was given such bad treatment by the Delhi voters and whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi has lost his sheen?
While certainly Modi would be carefully analysing the results and introspecting about his performance and decisions, he is bound to feel anxious and would be eager to regain his position in the minds of the people. However, the country still has a lot of hopes for Modi and perhaps this was a warning to him that people cannot be taken for granted.
The most worried person at this point would be Kejriwal and his party. After having made all sorts of impossible promises during the campaign and set an earlier record of being a leader of a chaotic government, the time has come for Kejriwal to deliver. Every economist and those with experience in governance would know that his promises such as free electricity are not possible to implement. Even his promise to wipe out corruption will be impossible.
Obviously, people voted for him to convey their disappointment of Modi and BJP and their inability to implement their promises. At this point, even an admirer of Kejriwal does not think that he will be able to deliver his promises.
With such arrogance that will inevitably follow, Kejriwal’s party men are bound to indulge in corrupt practices. The voters in Delhi have shown themselves to be keen watchers. They are bound to demand that Kejriwal fulfils his promises, sooner or later and he may even have to run for cover.
One can only hope that Kejriwal will show an extraordinary level of statesmanship to survive.
— The reader is an Indian founder trustee of an NGO based in Chennai, India.