When Atishi took over as the Chief Minister of Delhi last month, she made a dramatic statement by placing an empty chair next her own, saying it belonged to Arvind Kejriwal.
Comparing the AAP leader to Lord Ram, Atishi said, “I have the same pain in my heart as Bharat had when Lord Shri Rama was exiled from Ayodhya for 14 years and Bharat had to take over the governance. Just as Bharat ruled Ayodhya by keeping Lord Shri Ram’s ‘khadaun’ for 14 years, in the same way, I will run the Delhi government for the next four months”.
And with that, the personality cult around Kejriwal was complete. In those few minutes, Atishi undermined herself and the office of the Chief Minister forgetting that as a constitutional functionary, she is there to serve the people of Delhi, not Arvind Kejriwal.
In another display of sycophancy and the AAP’s version of hindutva politics, the Oxford educated Atishi, who has been admired as a sane, sensible voice and a steady hand, went on to say “Lord Shri Rama lived in exile for 14 years to fulfil a promise made by his father, which is why he is called Maryada Purushottam.
His life is an example of dignity and morality for all of us. In the same way, Kejriwal has set an example of dignity and morality in the politics of this country (by resigning).”
Hero worship
Sycophancy is not new to Indian politics but for the AAP, which claims to be a party that broke from the mould, this display of hero worship around Arvind Kejriwal has gone to the next level. Others too are afflicted by the same problem.
The BJP, which used to go to town about the servility of leaders in the Congress to the Gandhi family, have today put Narendra Modi on a pedestal. The level of sycophancy in the BJP is breathtaking. The last decade has shown us the cult of Modi, who is now bigger than his own party. And he has become so despite the misgivings of the RSS which has never been comfortable about promoting personalities over the organisation.
The Congress of course was the original culprit of the politics of personality worship. And with Rahul Gandhi, a similar pattern is emerging again. The party’s social media warriors in particular spend much of their day in praise of their leader, right down to his T-shirts and how he smiles.
Blatant sycophancy
If you dare to criticise him, the Congress party’s trolls and supporters will come charging after you. Some of it is understandable, because Modi has changed the rules of the game, making politics more and more centred around individuals rather than issues. A positive image make over for Rahul Gandhi after his Bharat jodo yatras has helped boost not just him but also the Congress.
Yet the party must not lose the plot and needs to keep the focus on issues, not just what Rahul Gandhi says and does. As for Atishi, her behaviour reminds us of the AIADMK’s O Panneerselvam or OPS who became chief minister of Tamil Nadu in 2001 after the Supreme Court barred J Jayalalithaa from holding political office. OPS too refused to sit in the Chief Minister’s chair and made sure he had Jaylaalithaa’s photo by his side when he went to work.
Leaders are an integral part of politics and no one is saying they don’t matter. But when leadership becomes hero worship and blatant sycophancy, the only ones who suffer are voters.
