Arvind Kejriwal: The common man who built a palace

Arvind Kejriwal stormed into politics describing himself as “maha kattar” (extreme) against corruption and called every leader of note in India corrupt.

Taking a leaf out of the late V.P. Singh’s playbook (he used to flash a pocket diary saying he had Swiss bank account numbers of the corrupt in the Bofors deal), Kejriwal said he would put every crooked politician in jail.

Kejriwal went a step further when he founded the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), India’s most successful political start-up, and said he would shun all the official goodies on offer such as a taxpayer-funded bungalow, extensive security, and use his own car.

Kejriwal said he would live like a common man and not an inaccessible VIP. Once he rode into office, Kejriwal ensured that he made hypocrisy his new calling card. Kejriwal didn’t just occupy a beautifully built bungalow with a pristine lawn; he built himself what is currently described in official circles in Delhi as a “Sheeshmahal”.

The Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG), in an audit report, has said the budget was escalated threefold to ₹33 crore (Dh 16 million) as Kejriwal splurged on curtains and carpets at taxpayers’ expense.

Consider some of the things the erstwhile Aam Aadmi leader lavished public money on: silk carpet ₹16 lakh, television console ₹20,34,200, and Toto water closets worth several lakh. This extravagant spree occurred during the pandemic, when Delhi was battling a severe crisis of oxygen shortage.

So why does this and the upcoming Delhi election merit my readers’ attention in an international newspaper with valuable column inches? Because Delhi is the national capital of India and represents India in a microcosm. And Kejriwal and his politics are a cautionary tale of our imperfect democracy, as voters and citizens are being taken for an epic ride.

If the late Singh became Prime Minister promising to eradicate corruption, several other politicians promised the same. Corruption remains, and the self-described crusaders are now a case study in how to join the system and flourish.

Delhi currently has the worst air pollution on the planet. (Kejriwal used to blame Punjab farmers and farm fires for it, saying, “Give me the government in Punjab and I will fix the problem.” AAP now runs the government in Punjab, yet we continue to breathe poison air).

Delhi roads are bad, an organised, rampant racket of encroachment with the connivance of the authorities is being run to take over Delhi’s only green lung, the Delhi Ridge. Law and order in Delhi is a nightmare, with streets unsafe for women at any hour.

Kejriwal is a master of promising freebies such as waiving electricity and water bills, but Delhi faces a huge water crisis, and the Yamuna, which Kejriwal promised to clean up, is dead and toxic.

Delhi has voted in Kejriwal thrice, only to face escalating problems, while he and his party spend all their time fighting like soap opera divas with the Lieutenant Governor, who is appointed by the Centre.

This, even after the Supreme Court clarified that law and order and land use come under the domain of the Centre as Delhi is India’s national capital.

Kejriwal complains that officials don’t cooperate with his government, but magically, the same officials offered full cooperation when he was building his dream house.

The late Sheila Dikshit, whom Kejriwal abused in the most pejorative terms, was also CM of Delhi when the BJP was running the central government. Yet, she had no problems getting projects done and sanctioned. Says a senior official, “AAP and Kejriwal don’t want to do any work; they want to keep fighting the BJP publicly for national optics to remain in the headlines.”

So what’s next?

Delhi elections have already seen the INDIA opposition alliance implode, as the Congress and AAP contest against each other. Kejriwal has been vituperative about the Congress, saying that no one takes the party seriously anymore and asking other opposition leaders to throw it out of the INDIA alliance for contesting the Delhi elections on its own.

The Congress only has itself to blame, as it conceded priceless Delhi political space to the AAP and saw its vote share being eaten up for Kejriwal’s political gain.

This time around, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the chief campaigner for the BJP in these elections and has dubbed AAP as the “AAPDA” (epidemic). It’s clearly an advantage for the BJP.

Has Delhi seen through Kejriwal and his brand of politics? We will soon know.