Arvind Kejriwal, the quick learner: Shobhaa De

NEW DELHI: Three leaders, three images. Sheila Dikshit smiled benignly out of the Congress posters extolling her governance in the last 15 years. Trusty Harsh Vardhan of the BJP promised relief from inflation. The third poster showed a man who was plain angry.

With fist clenched and sweat trickling down his face, Arvind Kejriwal deliberately portrayed a strikingly different image — the angry everyman, the ‘outsider’. The Aam Aadmi Party CM candidate knew he had to represent the ‘change’ that voters were looking for. Clearly, this paid off handsomely.

Although AAP could not achieve a clean sweep, its leader sent shock waves across the system. Kejriwal trounced sitting legislator, three-time chief minister and one of the country’s most successful politicians, Sheila Dikshit.

The transformation of Kejriwal from taxman to anticorruption activist to politician has taken place in full public glare. His journey from Anna (Hazare) to AAP has been remarkable.

“His evolution from deputy to leader has been the most striking for me, personally,” said social anthropolo g i s t S h iv Vishwanathan.

During Hazare’s anticorruption fast in Delhi in 2012, Kejriwal was usually next to him, sometimes whispering in his ear. At press conferences, he would go on the attack — calling politicians the enemy. “If the Lokpal bill was passed, half of the MPs would go to jail,” he said at one briefing.

And at another: “All the politicians are thieves — throw them to the vultures.” As a politician, Kejriwal is more restrained, but corruption remains his main plank.

However, his base has now shifted from the middle class to include the elite, NRIs and political commentators. “Clearly, he’s a quick learner. He switched strategies and toned down, which worked in his favour.

He also got rid of some high-profile publicity seekers, who were distracting his followers and taking away the focus from his agenda,” said columnist Shobhaa De. AAP has indicated it’s ready to move beyond Delhi.

Can Kejriwal become a national leader? “He is far from being viewed as a national leader. I would say Kejriwal is more a symbol than a real neta. But let’s not downgrade the power of that symbol,” De said.