Kejriwal is losing credibility trying to gain relevance

Kejriwal is losing credibility trying to gain relevance

Mr Kejriwal chose the Hindu vote bank when presented with a choice between it and the Dalit vote bank. The Arvind Kejriwal model of appropriating ideologies is focused on appealing to the voter base

Sayantan GhoshUpdated: Monday, October 31, 2022, 04:27 PM IST
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Reprsentative Photo | ANI

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) recently encountered a significant controversy after Rajendra Pal Gautam, a Dalit leader and Delhi's Social Welfare Minister—who has since resigned—attended an event of mass conversion to Buddhism. After the controversy, the minister resigned (or was forced to resign). Arvind Kejriwal and AAP both remained silent on the episode. Despite determined efforts to appropriate Dr BR Ambedkar, Mr Kejriwal's silence will damage his reputation among the Dalits of Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi.

After AAP's historic victory in the Punjab Assembly election, the party turned its attention to Gujarat, which is currently governed by the BJP. AAP and Arvind Kejriwal lacked much experience in dealing with the BJP. But when the Central agencies came for Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on corruption charges, Mr Kejriwal stood beside these two leaders. The fact that AAP is caste-biased is demonstrated by its support for Mr Jain and Mr Sisodia while refusing to back Mr Gautam.

The India Against Corruption movement, led by social activist Anna Hazare, was where Arvind Kejriwal's political career began. At the time, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its allies provided significant financial support to the movement. Many pro-BJP icons, including Baba Ramdev, backed Mr Hazare. But there were a number of individuals from other ideologies when Mr Kejriwal founded the Aam Aadmi Party. Socialists like Yogendra Yadav, liberals like Prashant Bhushan and Ashutosh, and even supporters of the RSS like Kumar Vishwas were present.

With time, Mr Kejriwal got rid of all these different ideologies and formed his own ideology of a competitive Hindutva with the BJP and the RSS.

The politics of Mr Kejriwal has two distinct phases. The initial phase lasted from the AAP’s inception until 2018. Mr Kejriwal projected anarchist ideals in this period. But he gradually cultivated his current nationalistic, pro-Hindutva persona. Throughout this journey he made it a point to position himself as a superior Hindu to others such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He frequently criticised the BJP's politics but never challenged the organisation's stance on Muslims. He did oppose the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens, but not because he was siding with Muslims; rather, he did so because he believed these laws were anti-Hindu.

Another important aspect of Mr Kejriwal's politics is taking Muslims for granted. With the exception of the Shiv Sena and the Shiromani Akali Dal, most non-BJP political parties in India have been secular. The other parties typically place a greater emphasis on India's diversity and secularism than the Congress, which consistently takes a strong stance against the RSS and its ideology. Here, the history of the AAP's founding and its primary focus in Delhi is crucial.

Mr Kejriwal did not found his party with any caste- or region-focused ideology. The AAP’s only agenda and primary focus was fighting corruption. This is why Mr Kejriwal did not have a suitable voter base when he first ran for office.

Second, Mr Kejriwal, national convenor of the AAP, recognised that Muslims no longer had a political voice following the rise of the BJP and Narendra Modi. Muslims in Delhi have been voting for Mr Kejriwal because they have no option. They no longer support the Congress, and they will never support the BJP.

Realising this, Mr Kejriwal has repeatedly demonised the minority community in addition to remaining silent on issues like atrocities against Muslims. The BJP was accused of orchestrating the entire Shaheen Bagh anti-CAA protest, according to the AAP, which also demonised the Tabliqui Jamaat for its congregation in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. More recently, the party asserted that the BJP orchestrated violence by bringing illegal Rohingyas and Bangladeshis during the BJP-ruled MCD's demolition drive at Jahangirpuri.

After the AAP's victory in the Delhi Assembly in 2020, Mr Kejriwal suddenly started talking about Dr BR Ambedkar and his legacy. Similarly, he started appropriating Sardar Bhagat Singh. The AAP will always benefit from the lack of a specific ideology. Mr Kejriwal's appropriation of Dr Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh became crucial because of his plan for broader expansion. Elections in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand were his priorities at the time. The party benefited from the appropriation of Bhagat Singh in Punjab, which also has the highest proportion of Dalit population.

AAP initially tried to appeal to the tribals in its Gujarat campaign by forming an alliance with the Bharatiya Tribal Party, which later fell apart. Then it focused on Dalits. For example, Mr Kejriwal invited a Dalit sanitation worker from Ahmedabad to Delhi for lunch and also clicked pictures in front of the huge photo of Dr Ambedkar on the wall of the Chief Minister's residence. Now the party has shifted focus towards the Patidar community.

One might ask why Mr Kejriwal would distance himself from Rajendra Pal Gautam if he truly believed in Ambedkar's philosophy. While there is no question that Mr Gautam took the oath in adherence to Ambedkar's legacy, Mr Kejriwal recognised that the BJP would play the utterance of oaths relating to dissociation with Hindu gods in a different manner.

This indicates that Mr Kejriwal chose the Hindu vote bank when presented with a choice between it and the Dalit vote bank. The Arvind Kejriwal model of appropriating ideologies is focused on appealing to the voter base. The AAP’s recent decision to remain silent on Mr Gautam sends a strong message that despite talking about various ideologies, it will remain a Hindu nationalist party that will support the upper castes and marginalise or use minorities for electoral gain. Such political hypocrisy in an attempt to become relevant is increasingly making the party less credible.

Sayantan Ghosh is a columnist and PhD Scholar In Media & Politics. He tweets @sayantan_gh. Views expressed are personal.

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