Never has a politician lost political capital so quickly just after winning an absolute majority for a second consecutive election. But such is Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s political life. He seems to rise and fall over and over again.
It is not possible for Kejriwal to be on a roller coaster forever. It has to stop. And when it does, the joy ride will be over.
The time is right for him to stop hustling and settle down for a good deal. And there can’t be a better deal than joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
That would make him a Nitish Kumar. Isn’t that a comfortable thing? Nitish Kumar’s third term in Bihar has been lacklustre, and the anti-incumbency sentiment is more pronounced than ever. And yet, aur hai kaun? Who else is there? This TINA (or ‘there is no alternative’) factor for Nitish Kumar wouldn’t hold if he was not with the BJP today. The Amit Shah-led party would have hauled him over the coals for the misery of Bihar’s migrant labourers across the country. The benefit of being with the BJP is that the only potential challenger is on your side.
Nitish Kumar is the tallest political leader in Bihar, Narendra Modi is the tallest political leader nationally. Beyond the faces, the caste calculation is also such that the chances of the NDA losing Bihar this winter looks impossible. Nitish Kumar is all set to return for a fourth time, unless the Covid-19 crisis takes too heavy a toll. As of now, Bihar has seen only two deaths, with the number of positive coronavirus cases being less than 100.
Also read: Arvind Kejriwal risks becoming Rajiv Gandhi, neither here nor there
Arvind as Nitish
Arvind Kejriwal won a second term in February 2020, losing only five of his 67 seats in a 70-member assembly. Since the day he won, the BJP has made life difficult for him, in a way very different from the first term.
In his first term, Kejriwal saw the BJP use constitutional mechanisms to not let him perform. They wanted to stifle his government by using the excuse of Delhi not being a full state. The Delhi lieutenant governor thus became a more powerful political instrument than the Delhi state BJP. To his credit, Kejriwal managed to outmanoeuvre the BJP on this. Free electricity alone was enough to ensure his victory.
Since then, the BJP has been countering Arvind Kejriwal politically. Kapil Mishra of the BJP incites communal violence, the Amit Shah-controlled Delhi Police is found looking the other way if not actually participating in the violence themselves, and Arvind Kejriwal draws all the flak.
Kejriwal does not want to be seen playing the secular card, and neither does he want to be seen playing the communal card. He gets the worst of both worlds. Petrol bombs are found in the terrace of a Muslim councillor, and Arvind Kejriwal has to immediately sack him. Kapil Mishra gets to take out a peace march, where slogans like “shoot the traitors” are raised.
There’s another leader who is playing neither-communal-nor-secular card: Nitish Kumar. The only difference is that he gets away with the contradiction because the BJP won’t attack its own ally.
If Kejriwal thought the crisis was over, and there were five years for the world to forget the Delhi riots, he was mistaken because pat came another crisis. Not only is Delhi a Covid-19 hotspot (the government has identified 76 ‘containment zones’), but it is also a migrant hub. And Arvind Kejriwal was found wanting in his migrant response.
He could well say the Narendra Modi government planned the lockdown hastily, did not think about migrants, and that he is not at fault. But he won’t be able to say that, because he is the chief minister of Delhi, a unique chair that has responsibility without much power. This is not to exonerate Kejriwal, who has come across as lacking even in empathy, in both these crises: riots and migrant labourers stuck in lockdown.
Also read: No soft Hindutva, no Left Revolution, Kejriwal establishing a new centre in Indian politics
Resistance is futile
A simple way out for Kejriwal today would be to attack the BJP and the Modi government, but he has realised it would be a suicidal strategy, as he saw the last time he tried it. So he has gone to the opposite end of sounding like a BJP chief minister. That is not turning out to be very useful either, since the BJP is attacking him more than ever before. Be it Delhi riots or migrant workers’ crisis, Kejriwal is the fall guy.
Regardless of the number of press conferences he does, promises he makes, and new schemes he announces, Arvind Kejriwal will continue to look like a diminishing leader since he has practically surrendered before Modi-Amit Shah. As a succinct headline in The Telegraph put it, “Looks like Arvind, sounds like Modi.”
This is a thankless situation to be in. Kejriwal is being nice to Modi but the BJP and the pro-BJP media still attacks him. The BJP and the Modi government’s policies create tensions and Kejriwal draws the flak.
It is obvious that appeasing the Modi establishment is not enough for Arvind Kejriwal. He must join it. The BJP’s attacks on him will stop. He will then be able to comfortably enjoy the chief minister’s chair without having to bother much about his political image on a daily basis. In other words, become Nitish Kumar.
This would mean Arvind Kejriwal also giving up on his pipe dream of going national and becoming prime minister. Once again, he could learn from Nitish Kumar to be realistic and practical. It’s not happening. Arvind Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party are doomed forever to be a Delhi-centric party.
Joining the NDA, however, may have the benefit of becoming part of the Akali Dal-BJP coalition in Punjab, thus having a realistic chance of taking on Congress’ Amarinder Singh. Having already apologised to Bikram Singh Majithia, Kejriwal should have no problem with this arrangement.
When Nitish Kumar ditched the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar and re-joined the NDA in 2017, he famously announced, “Nobody can defeat Modi in 2019.” It was this cold calculation about the future that made Nitish do a complete U-turn on his promise of never joining hands with the BJP again. Since Arvind Kejriwal seems to think similarly about Modi’s invincibility, he should come to a similar conclusion.
The author is contributing editor to ThePrint. Views are personal.
“Nobody can defeat Modi in 2019.” and in 2024.
Anything means literally anything???
Are you kidding the difference in their ideology made kejriwal a hero and bjp dirty politics made a loser and a looser and hero become one then the kejriwal ideology vanishes and also its identity and country will loose the best party which is going to make government in parliament in few years
What a pathetic and fantasy story Theprint has written.
Just one question. How can you say that Kapil Mishra was the reason for Delhi Riots? Did he started Delhi Riots? Was he the first person to speak on Shaheen Bagh protest.
Swara Bhaskar, Amanatullah Khan, Soni Gandhi – Ye aar paar ki ladai hai. Sadakon pe aao, Priyanka Gandhi, etc. Are not responsible for this?
And we’re you waiting to cover up the news that Delhi Police, controlled by Home Minister, Amit Shah for doing Laathi Charge so that you can start crying like anything and say ki lok tantra ko hatya hui hai. Amit shah is a criminal etc.
Malai chatne ko mahi mil rahi to kuch bhi man gadhant?
Arvind Kejriwal is the Best…. And the next PM of India…. . He is literate…. Country is running by some bunch of fools n illiterate persons…. Arvind Kejriwal has its own identity…. Nitish kumar is useless…. Kejriwal is the Best n after kejriwal It’s Uddhav Thackeray…. So dont be fool but have some logic dear author
As for as APP is considered, it came out and thrived on an ideological basis that attracted many common people as well as intellectuals. However, ouster of Prashant Bhushan and it’s ideologue Yogesh Yadav proved that it is no more than another or second BJP party. Like Congress, it also have many who wear khaki underneath their pyjamas or dhotis. Some of them have turned out to be so. Recent behaviour of Kejriwal proves that he Is a stodgy of BJP and serving it by maligning Muslims for aggravation of COVID 19 in Delhi.
Arvind Kejariwal has proved again that he is the tallest leader in Delji. Modi is not close to him. Nitish Kumar is a puppet who needs support of either BJP or RJD to be in power.
No comparison between AK and Nitish Kumar.
AK is good thing for Delhi whereas Nitish Kumar is burden for Biharis.
it will revive muslim league or congress Bad Move
Bhaiya Author, Kahan se aaye hain aap, aur kahan se itna soch lete hain.
Naam Punjabi, baatein Bihar ji aur soch Nagpur ki
Waah waah
Amid this crisis of COVID19 how could you even think of such political mergers?
This is worse than prostitution!
Yuck!
Utterly disgraceful!
Here also power play!
The Saudi Arabia govt had sent a flight to America on 16 4.2020 to bring back 180 saudi citizens from American back to Saudi Arabia..My humble request to Hon’ble Prime Minister Mr.Narendra modiji to kindly make arrangements to bring back our Indian brothes and sisters from Oman Muskat to India who are not able to to come to India due to sudden lockdown on 22..3.2020 and their flight tickets of 23.3.2020 were also cancelled due to sudden lockdown by you Sir for kind act of which we all will remain ever great full to you sir..
were n’t muslims of India reporting Gulf authorities for last 1 week on Hindus working there who commented against islam to get them jailed? Funny how ungrateful the “Quom” is
Better you stay there. Oman is less populated than India.
Why can’t you think positively?
People know about Arvind Kejriwal very well. And I wish he never joins the NDA or BJP.
Baseless study if somebody has won with huge majority
What is the point in discussing his joining NDA only because his life is made miserable by NDA rather he should spread his party accross india to give a tough fight to NDA in assembly election
This article is just a monotonous and is not a neutral thought
The print is now infiltrated by bjp and rss…seams it has become one of the godi media too..
Stupid article. Cant compare AK with Nitish, Nis an opportunist. Lacks principles. AK is pro poor. Principled. absolutely uncorruptible. AK has met the media and the might of BJP in the recent elections. He fought against all the money of Bjp, all th e power and police and judiciary of Bjp. He will form a national party in due course. for sulre.
Or he can use this opportunity to further strengthen his party and becaime a better alternative to nda.
ROCK ON!Right on target with Kejriwal’s hands tied by token authority of giving free electricity only.Water, cooking gas and the rest being in central governments control, Kejriwal does not free hand anywhere else and being a union territory and not a full state, he has very few options and rightly the Lt. Governor can decide finally what and how he can function.
Next as you rightly imagine, take Punjab from Congress and complete annihilation of Congress and lets have Modi-3..Just view and listen to spoeeches that Modiji has delivered not only in India but overseas in US, UK,France, Canada, Singapore and elsewhere.Manmohan could not deliver a speech worth anything.Manmohan had to have Sonia approve so he had that handicap.
Jai Hind
As if Kejriwal will heed the advice of this guy!!!
This writer obviously hates Kejriwal and Nitish Kumar. He also hates BJP, but is spell-struck with the power of BJP. So his mishappened brain wants Kejriwal to get humiliated by BJP as Nitish Kumar is treated by BJP.
Who are you join or not to join any of the alliance.
Stop creating own world… politics is a waiting game…..Arvind is chief minister first and his powers are shared… He has to perform in association with center….
No one wants a street smart Arvind now….
Whether he is nationally relevant or not…the model set at Delhi is relevant
Aravind is a leader by his own right. The advice is like that of Sakuni, worse than the problem, if at all there is one. The writer intending to strengthen the BJP’s opposition ends up strengthening BJP.
Are they no people left in this country to whom ethics is important. It will win in the end. The people would have voted for BJP but why did they vote for AK? Is it not because they did not want BJP in power? Then how can AK join the BJP? Would it not be a betrayal of the trust people have put in him? being hounded by the BJP is what is going to get.him the votes. Hope he is canny enough to understand this and stay put
Are they no people left in this country to whom ethics is important. It will win in the end. The people would have voted for BJP but why did they vote for AK? Is it not because they did not want BJP in power? Then how can AK join the BJP? Would it not be a betrayal of the trust people have put in him?
I totally disagree with the view.
It will only ruin the image of Kejriwal and AAP which they have built by good ground work.
Whereas image of BJP is degrading day by day by their poor governance, communal politics, their hardliner candidates, failing to meet the promises made during campaigns and top of that increasing dictatorship style governance, influencing media by all means.
Days for BJP is coming to an end.
What sort of article is this! Completely baseless, worthless piece of shit from the writer. He imagined something and wants to create news with it.
लगता है कि द प्रिंट ने खुद को बीजेपी में विलय कर लिया है। लेख केजरीवाल के प्रति दुरभावना से ग्रसित है। इसमें ना कोई प्वाइंट है, ना तथ्य और ना तर्क; केवल १ निरर्थक कथन है । AAP पर इसका कोई फर्क पड़ने वाला नहीं है। हम इसे सिरे से खारिज करते हैं।
लेखक केजरीवाल के प्रति दुरभावना से ग्रसित है।…
दुर संभावना नहीं, दुरभावना ( इल विल) से ग्रसित है।
Very innovative imagination and possibly realizable. But what will be the feeling of delhiets
It’s will be sucidical for arvind kejriwal to join the NDA rather he should be the third front as he is the only Challenger left for the now struggling bjp as all her allies are backing off kejriwal will be a good option as he follows a good fan base and is a educated leaders who helped dehli grow to great highest and yes you can’t write off the Congress yet. Best of luck Mr kejriwal the beconn of secularism is your calling now be a great leader and yes you are the best option to be India’s prime minister in the very near future
Man you are a dalaal……I subscribe to print….till now I have practically read everything you and your sorry ass congressi dalaal of a guptaji editor has passed at his editorial discretion…..of all the venomous serpents, you Mr Vij are the most perverted…
I love how you suffer…..it must be hell in your mind!!!… And yes your pseudoliberal editor requires my email id and name for comment…..hahaha….
Feel free to report or sue….the fact is ki m**darc*d tere se jyada kamaata hun,, tere se se jyada padha likha hu…aur jaha pe bol teri g**nd faad dunga
Anybody who understands Delhi won’t write what you have written. Kejriwal’s USP is efficient delivery of basic serices and that’s it. Nothing less, nothing more. BJP tried all sorts of tricks, and failed miserably. As for the ‘pinnacle’ of Kejriwal’s political career, it is yet to come. You know his age.
Why should a well educated politician join bakchodi BJP .
Looks like Shivam is morphing himself to be a Pashant Kishor for Arvind Kejriwal. Nitish was the original partner in NDA, fell out with Modi and then rejoined NDA later, when it suited both. That is not the case with Arvind. He has to be outside NDA and opposing it, He is working in coordination with BJP due to corona crisis but he is also at fault for want of doing many things properly during Delhi riots and corona crisis. It is better for him to focus on his governance and efficiency rather than take on or take off with Modi. He can decide this around 2023 depending on the mood of the country at that time, Corona crisis has given Modi 4 years to prove himself with his economic decisions. If he fails, he will have tough time returning to power in 2024. Having been the most wanted leader required during the War time, Churchill was shunted out by voters post the War in 1946. Modi can meet the similar fate if he fails to lift economy from the low level it has reached now. Modi has done very well with the political agenda; a few items remain and they can be sorted out by the by. Now it is time for the new direction to the economy. The Modi legacy depends on how well he delivers on this. .
The author seems to draw quite naive conclusions as per his own convenience
Yeah!! One thought the ‘Kejriwal in the state, Modi at the centre’ slogan was a cunning election strategy.. but it seems that AAP has taken it too seriously!!
Sheer incompetence in handling the aftermath of the riots, and not taking care of poor migrants during the lockdown have given not just the BJP, but even supporters something negative to talk about.
In their attempt to walk the fine line between Hindus and Muslims, AAP ended up in a coma, with their first priority being to antagonize neither. Instead, they should have tried to do work that would please both. Their handling of both the migrants and the Jamaati polarization also seems to follow the same trends! Is an anti- Muslim approach the price BJP has demanded for cooperation?!
AAP is increasingly beginning to look like the poor man’s BJP.
Oh really ….You mean supporting Muslims on every front whether right aur wrong is secularism….Wow what a thought!! Now I m even 100% more sure that all Muslims are communal…
Stupid “Shoe I am ” cannot digest the fact that a extra cunning and selfish person who worked under “NAC” bigots( who incidentally are his gurus as well) is now trying to imitate MODIJI for sheer survival
“The author is contributing editor to ThePrint. Views are personal. AND DUMB”
There, corrected it.
I am thoroughly disappointed with Arvind Kajriwal. I thought he was a man who cared for the poor and downtrodden, he got the votes that could have gone to Congress based on his secular image. However, as soon the election was over he became a junior member of the BJP. I would like to know what are his political views apart from the agenda of living a comfortable life for the next 5 years. Will the real Arvind Kajriwal stand up and identify himself.
Writer’s angst is palpable.
He is so miserable that Kejriwal is not fighting with Modi and both governments are trying to fight Covid-19 pandemic in tandem.
He would have loved to see a jootam pe zar between them, a la, Mamta.
Alas, that is not happening. His grouse that NDA’s caste combination is undefeatable, stability in Bihar, and acknowledgement of nation,of Modi being top of the heap leader of India, is confirming of his political views.
Mr. Pinaray Vijayan have some similarities of Mr. Kejarival in the problems of their people. Being Pnaray is an anti BJP in social medias and in public platforms, he is supporting Mody policies indirectly to protect Malayalees interests. Being he don’t want to play any leading role in New Delhi and keeps CPM as regional party like Aam Admy party, he never need to support NDA directly. But he never criticize NDA for the benefits of his state, Kerala. But he insists to keep away Congress from power in Kerala and monopolize his power in his state, like in West Bengal Jyothi Basu in the past. This will become Kerala BJP a problem to come to power in Kerala, but Kerala BJP can grab the opposition power within 2 elections. Mr. Pinary is a good Chief minister whom he controls LDF ministers of different parties including CPI (always critising him) This is his ability and added advantage in ministry management & administration, even he don’t have any experience in Chief ministership. Nithish Kumar and Kejarival are good in their profession and proved their public image in different elections. If Pinaray wants to re-elect in next elections, he must co-operate with Modiji indirectly which will bring Kerala BJP an indirect allance with LDF. As a result, BJP can won minimum 10 assembly seats in Kerala. Kindly note that there is no permanent enemy in politics. Also BJP can became opposition party in the Assembly and fulfill their master plan “Congress mukth Bharat” We Malayalees are prefering a party whom is working for our interests. Congress never worked and we never expect, they will do in future for our benifits, especially BJP is ruling in the Center. Because congress never compromise with BJP in any manner. But Pinaray can do, and he will do, because he never refuse the interests of malayalees and Kerala is the only state where Communists are ruling in the world. Now Pinary have the control in his PB and Yechuri is his supporter. It is easy to him to make an indirect aliance to become a part of BJP’s target “Congress mukth Bharat”
An author is surely off the track.
1. He started by saying Kejriwal has lost the Delhi. Rollercoaster ride. Where is fall? Where is loss?
He is fighting brilliantly against Corona. The migrant workers issue and Tablighi cannot conclude that he has been failed.
So, far fetched argument.
2. He has 88% seats in the assembly, when BJP used all it’s power to defeat him. Why he should be worried about the BJP?
It’s like if BJP guys tell Kejriwal to join them. He will be like…who the hell you are!
3. Author said, Free electricity alone was enough to win the victory. Oh really? Have you forgotten Mrs. Trump visiting his schools. Have you forgotten sewage lines, Mohalla clinics. So, basically Kejriwal is focusing on Education, Health, Basic Infrastructure and now next is transportation.
4. According to author Delhi riots were sponsored by BJP. To avoid it, Kejriwal shall surrender to BJP.
This way each regional and small party will have to surrender before BJP.
5. Author said, So he has gone to the opposite end of sounding like a BJP chief minister.
What? Like Yogi? Like Fadanvis? Like which BJP CM?
6. Nitish Kumar said no one can defeat Modi. Well, he was defeated in Delhi, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and many more to come.
7. By joining BJP, are they giving Delhi the status of full statehood? If not, then how he will become more powerful. Just because he will be little safe from nuisance of BJP workers. That’s it? That you call the power?
Looks like some college going kid cum intern has written this article. Not expected from The Print.
“The author is a contributing editor. His views are personal. AND DUMB”. There, completed it for ya.
The Print is evidently not happy with Kejriwal falling silent and stopping throwing muck at Modi, realizing it’s becoming counter productive.
Bhai, kyun dukhi hai…. kejriwal is a smart politician. He wants to be successor of Modi not competitor. He knows after Modi, he has A realistic chance to defeat Amit Shaw… all Modi supporters will be on his side as it happened in Delhi. he understands, it is Modi who is popular and is winning not the BJP.
Vij Sahib chill maro aur khush raho
Why will anyone join a party whose muslim face Amanatullah Khan mentored the terrorist Sharjeel imam and appeared on video planning to break NorthEast? He cant buyout the entire country with freebies. People wont sellout like ricebags.
Et tu, Shivam ji? How come you too turned communal?
Sharp, methodical and incisive. Well done S Vij!!
Media I mean the print and visual and social media in this highly competitive world for their survival can at best do post mortems only on political events. they do not create any political event by their reporting per se. Their efforts to sensationalise issues — rather creating a mountain out of a mole hill or a storm in a tea cup is the order of the day under the caption —BREAKING news –or screaming front paged headlines To date Kejriwal has outwitted the Centre . Lets give the devil his due. His moves are held close to his chest and therefore at the moment it would be time opportune to tackle to Corona virus dilema — politics needs to take a back seat and lets not read too much into his overtures after all he has the mandate and Delhites would expect him to deliver he has a long way to go and none can afford the freebies to stop. Banking on the migrant issue for a political upheaval at this juncure is wish ful thinking .
The migrant issue is the same in every state . The fact that the migrants carry the label of migrants per se indicates that one thing is clear that their home state could not provide them for their daily bread or they looked at the host State as a rewarding destination for work. Once these objectives of the migrants comes under threat they fall back on their home state. The plague in Surat or communal riots in North Mumbai etc. are some instances . No employer or landlord or slum lord as a rule is seen even in the worst of times – now corona virus pandemic — to excercise compassion on these migrants the word compassion does not exist in their dictionary — having to abstain from receiving rent payments , payment of wages for no work when no work no pay is the norm, and above all the fear that the very migrants that they use are now seen as dreaded carriers of the corona virus is the order of the day.
Migrants too prefer home for they fear that they would per force be subjected to tests of western medicine innoculation of untested vaccines in fact the fear of being used — as guinea pigs in their laboratories reigns supreme. Even the free meals are no longer seen as a bait to hold them back once the borders are open. Hence reading too much into the communal riots during the US Presidents visit and now the corona virus may only provide scoops for the media but not politics
Whether CM Arvind Kejriwal should formally join the BJP or simply look, talk and act like a lackey is for him to decide. Beyond him, there is nothing much to AAP in any case. However, he has no more prospect of becoming PM than Ms Mayawati does. They should see the career graph of Shri Sharad Pawar since 1991 to realise how difficult it is for a regional satrap to get the top job. 2. The constitutional limits / limitations of the Delhi government, enforced rigidly by the Centre, are known to all. However, his government has pots of money, a lot more capita than other CMs who get taxes from their cities to sustain the rural hinterlands. His government ought to have done more for stranded migrants, not let them shelter beneath a bridge, relying on a gurudwara for one meal a day. 3. The comparison with Nitishbabu, another pale, shrunken creature, is apt. There is a great moral void where the heart should be beating.
Jyoti Malhotra, Shivam Vij, all the leftist seculars who used to write in Pakistani newspapers are on the Print and seriously eroding your credibility. Only people left to join this parade are Javed Naqvi, Aakar Patel and Sanjay Kumar.
yes we do agree with the author he must join the NDA and become a sort of Nitish Kumar. A well thought out article. He is in a Now or Never kind of a situation. As author suggests he can win a few more seats as a NDA partner in Punjab than as only a AAP. It will give a stability to his party.
Thanks
Nagesh Rao
History has enough Jaichands. We can do without adding to the list.
Due to an ineffective Congress, Indian public has run out of options and there is scope for an strong opposition against BJP. The AAP has the potential in terms of its leadership, but needs to go a long way before it accomplishes such a feat.