The rise of Kejriwal in Delhi

Arvind Kejriwal's spectacular win in the Delhi state polls has a lot of hard truths embedded in it. The tax official-turned-politician won the poll last year, too. Upon becoming the Chief Minister of Delhi that time, Mr Kejriwal had a 49-day stint with the state government. He quit the chief ministerial post because of his minority government's inability to pass his proposed anti-corruption legislation.
Many in India may not endorse the hard truths or the latent realities that have brought the anti-graft campaign leader to the seat of Delhi Chief Minister for the second time; but given the changing nature of Indian politics, those cannot be glossed over.
Kejriwal's great victory was no gimmickry, nor was it the sequel to any cleverly devised stratagem. He wanted to get rid of the baggage of the past. Transcending all forms of social or regional profiling, he made fighting corruption his goal. It came under renewed focus in the Delhi state polls.
The widely adored anti-graft champion's electoral victory has spawned a major impact for India. In the time-worn and hackneyed rituals of elections in the sub-continent, the meteoric rise of Kejriwal has the potential of becoming a watershed event.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have experienced a humiliating drubbing in the Delhi polls, winning only three seats. On the other hand, Arvind Kejriwal and his anti-establishment Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) won 67 seats out of total 70. The other parties, including Congress, had to take an ignominious exit. The Kejriwal victory appears to be the harbinger of a new era for the Indian political horizon.
The victory of the largely apolitical, but focused-on-reforms, Arvind Kejriwal in the Delhi state polls is a sharp pointer to the resilience and strength of Indian democracy. It has once again driven home the impermanence of the country's traditional politics, in symbolic representation though. Jettisoning all issues relating to power politics, Kejriwal and his AAP focused on social clean-up. During election campaigns, the anti-graft crusader felt comfortable in the company of slum clusters, Muslims, labourers and the socially marginalised groups. In fact, the party has chalked out specific campaigns, and post-victory plans, for the diverse communities.
As new-era politics is gradually sending out its root into the Indian social spectrum, Bangladesh may find it hard to remain unaffected.
Pity that while the Indian voters in the country's capital are celebrating self-styled anarchist Kejriwal's barging into the Delhi government, with repercussions for the whole nation, people here are perversely wallowing in the quagmire of their misfortune. They are gleefully pushing themselves into a much-cursed cocoon.
The nation's entrenched persecution complex and ethical bankruptcy have made things worse. It could be someone like Kejriwal at the national level - like the popular Indonesian President Joko Widodo or Evo Morales, the Bolivian President from the indigenous community, who, many here hope, can bail this country out of the current socio-political miasma. Can the people expect new-age politicians to be in the making in this befuddled country?
Shihabskr@ymail.com