Delhi polls: Kiran Bedi is PM Modi’s insurance policy, sad to see her in BJP, Yogendra Yadav says

NEW DELHI: It pains him AAP ideologue Yogendra Yadav to see his former party colleague Shazia Ilmi and leading member of the Anna Hazare brigade, Kiran Bedi, in the BJP. "BJP has everything today — money, corporate power and media power. When I see Kiranji on stage with BJP, I can't help feel why is my former colleague on that side, on the side of the powerful? Why isn't she fighting with those taking on the powerful?" he tells TOI in an interview.

Does he feel betrayed? "Betrayed is too strong a word. I feel very bad." Delhi voters, Yadav says, are very aware. "They'll see through the BJP's game in inducting Bedi." The January 10 Modi rally, he says, was a flop. "They couldn't even get 25,000 people. That's why Modi decided he couldn't win Delhi with the present local leadership."

Yadav described Bedi as nothing but Modi's "insurance policy". He said: "If BJP loses, she'll be blamed. It has nothing to do with her worth. If she really wanted to work with Modi, why did she join only 20 days ahead of polls?"

The AAP leader says he's shocked every time he sees Shazia in the BJP ranks. "She was always a feminist, totally secular. Now I see her on stage with Amit Shah, a portrait of Veer Savarkar in the background. It's very depressing." He concedes that Shazia's charge of centralization of power in AAP and the high command culture has some basis. "You can't deliver quick results, build a party and have perfect democratization at all levels." There's some centralization of power that Arvind practises but that's the reality of politics, he says. "We've to establish ourselves as a viable party. I am a 20-year wallah, maybe others are not."

Is he worried that the professional middle class, once the AAP support base, is with BJP now? "After the 2014 elections, we couldn't enter middle class localities. People didn't want to hear from AAP because Modi's popularity was so high. Now, people want to hear from us again. We're regaining our middle class support," Yadav said.

Yadav concedes discontent over ticket distribution. "There was discontent last time, there was discontent this time, but we have to go by the candidate's integrity because we have very little money. If our candidates don't have integrity how are we different?"

Will this discontent impact the polls? "In two states—Delhi and Punjab— AAP has established itself. Every party has discontent over tickets. But which other party has a Lok Pal like we have in Admiral Ramdas? We're the only party with a Lok Pal who decides on these matters and whose word is final." AAP's long-term agenda, he says, is to be the principle opposition party to Modi's BJP.