Two and half years ago, the Arvind Kerjriwal was nick-named AK67 ( for winning all but 3 Assembly seats in Delhi).
It looks like that AK67 has misfired in all directions. Today's MCD elections are, as I see, not a vote for the BJP or Modi or Amit Shah, but a vote against Kejriwal. Plain and simple. For no voter is THAT stupid to give a 85% mandate in one election, and reverse it to 15% in 2 years flat.
To me, the results point to the following:
1. Rank anger against Kejriwal and his tall promises ( and no action).
2. Disappointment with the AAP for allowing Kerjiwal to hijack the mantle of Anna Hazare, and to get away with it, quite literally.
People are already signing on the epitaph of AAP and Kejriwal. To me, that is an overdo. To me, the following are the take-aways:
Firstly, People have always bounced back from the worst of election defeats, provided they learn their lessons well. Kejriwal should take heart from history, and should honestly strive to be " The New, Improved Kejriwal", rather than sticking to his dirty games and "shoot and scoot" politics.
Secondly, this is a lesson equally for the BJP. They should remain humble, and focus on DELIVERING what they have promised to the people. If not, they would meet the same fate - and they really have much more to lose.
Thirdly, all said and done, this is only the MCD election, and to me, it has no national significance, other than a warning signal for Kejriwal. I had maintained when Kejriwal had won big time, two years ago, that it was after all, the election for the Corporation of Delhi ( jokingly). Today, when he stands defeated and disgraced, I maintain the same - that the MCD results do not matter at the national level.
Fourthly, and more importantly, this means a potentially different political realignment at the national level that could shape, in the coming weeks. Coupled with the defeats in Punjab and Goa, the AAP has now has snatched failure from the jaws of glory. The rapid conquest of the BJP in state and municipal elections, consistently over the last 15 months ( after the Bihar debacle), I am sure, is sending shivers down the spines of the likes of Mamta, Nitish, Naveen Patnaik etc. I expect some of these " cats on the wall" now to officially realign with the Modi wave. I expect the others to huddle together, and concoct another " National Front" against the BJP. That concoction may well contain heady potions, with enemies like TMC and Commies sleeping together- and hey, who knows, the DMK and AIADMK may sleep together too, for Parliamentary and national affairs!! Politics, surely, sees strange bedfellows, more often than not.
It looks like that AK67 has misfired in all directions. Today's MCD elections are, as I see, not a vote for the BJP or Modi or Amit Shah, but a vote against Kejriwal. Plain and simple. For no voter is THAT stupid to give a 85% mandate in one election, and reverse it to 15% in 2 years flat.
To me, the results point to the following:
1. Rank anger against Kejriwal and his tall promises ( and no action).
2. Disappointment with the AAP for allowing Kerjiwal to hijack the mantle of Anna Hazare, and to get away with it, quite literally.
People are already signing on the epitaph of AAP and Kejriwal. To me, that is an overdo. To me, the following are the take-aways:
Firstly, People have always bounced back from the worst of election defeats, provided they learn their lessons well. Kejriwal should take heart from history, and should honestly strive to be " The New, Improved Kejriwal", rather than sticking to his dirty games and "shoot and scoot" politics.
Secondly, this is a lesson equally for the BJP. They should remain humble, and focus on DELIVERING what they have promised to the people. If not, they would meet the same fate - and they really have much more to lose.
Thirdly, all said and done, this is only the MCD election, and to me, it has no national significance, other than a warning signal for Kejriwal. I had maintained when Kejriwal had won big time, two years ago, that it was after all, the election for the Corporation of Delhi ( jokingly). Today, when he stands defeated and disgraced, I maintain the same - that the MCD results do not matter at the national level.
Fourthly, and more importantly, this means a potentially different political realignment at the national level that could shape, in the coming weeks. Coupled with the defeats in Punjab and Goa, the AAP has now has snatched failure from the jaws of glory. The rapid conquest of the BJP in state and municipal elections, consistently over the last 15 months ( after the Bihar debacle), I am sure, is sending shivers down the spines of the likes of Mamta, Nitish, Naveen Patnaik etc. I expect some of these " cats on the wall" now to officially realign with the Modi wave. I expect the others to huddle together, and concoct another " National Front" against the BJP. That concoction may well contain heady potions, with enemies like TMC and Commies sleeping together- and hey, who knows, the DMK and AIADMK may sleep together too, for Parliamentary and national affairs!! Politics, surely, sees strange bedfellows, more often than not.
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