Arvind Kejriwal: Common Man's Hearthrob and a Walking Revolution

In the year 2011, an angry young man wearing long old shirts and pants appeared on TV screens with the sayings which are close to a common man’s heart. He, along with Anna Hazare took a stand against corruption and started fighting for an independent body ‘Lokpal’. We all know him as Arvind Kejriwal, Former Chief Minister of Delhi and having a resemblance of an ordinary educated middle class man, firmly aligned with values like justice, equality, truth and transparency. He is also the most lingering personality who has proactively occupied Indian media in last 4 years.

The faith and credibility which he earned among the common people are the domino effect of the sacrifices which he made during his early stage of life. Reminiscences of a Man who has studied from prestigious IIT, got a job at Tata Steel and later worked as an IRS officer, what else has remained after achieving all this for a common middle class Indian. But for Arvind all these accomplishments were not sufficient as he had some other plans in his mind.

Arvind left the job at Tata Steels as he found the same was not his cup of tea. He considered joining Indian Administrative Services could give him a chance to enter into the system and to give back something to the society. Just after giving the exams, he went to Kolkata and joined the Ramakrishna Mission and Nehru Yuva Kendra. It was to some degree out of the box as everybody around him was planning to go abroad to earn money, but he had his own beliefs and he was so desperate to work for the social cause.

While working as an IRS officer, he started an NGO ‘Parivartan’ and it was his first footstep towards the larger pictures for which he was looking for. Later he quit IRS also and dedicates himself completely in the social work. Arvind won the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Emergent Leadership in 2006 for his contribution to the enactment of the Right to Information Act and for his efforts to empower the poorest citizens of India.

As his father Gobind Ram Kejriwal, a retired engineer, describes Arvind settled uneasily into life as a bureaucrat. Unlike the other officers he worked with, Kejriwal refused to use peons; he cleaned his own desk and emptied his own dustbin. He avoided office parties and other social gatherings, preferring to sit at a nearby tea stall. Arvind doesn’t celebrate his own birthday or those of his two children. He is full of fury against the corrupt system is where the poor getting poorer and rich is getting richer.

Life is full of miracles and this short little man has more to achieve. In the year 2012, after getting frustrated with the government’s unwillingness to bring a strong Lokpal bill, he formed Aam Aadmi Party and in the span of a year he has successfully been able to become the CM of Delhi state. After ruling Delhi for successful 49 days, he resigned from his post of CM as his government does not have the majority in assembly to pass the laws which they promised in their manifesto. His decision to quit the government has been criticized by a large section of people and that anger cost his party too to lose badly in 2014 general elections.

Arvind has transformed his rage against the corrupt system in a more logical way to attain his aspiration of a real democracy where people have all the rights in their hands. No doubt, he has a vision, but not aids which can help him to reach as many as people. Arvind single handedly managed to fight with the most powerful political guns of India and the strength that conspired him to stand firmly in every situation came from the rage which he has against the current political system.

He demonstrates what is called “Bottom to top” approach, a style that focuses, primarily, on the growth and well being of its people and its communities. While traditional politics generally involve “Top to bottom” approach where the exercise of power done for their own benefits.

Now again, Delhi is on the verge of elections and Arvind Kejriwal’s fate will get decided by election results. He is trying hard to win the lost trust of people and opinion polls are showing that slowly and steadily his words have started getting acknowledged. Kejriwal seems pleased with the success of his campaign strategy and confident enough of winning the trust of people in the form of votes. 

The glamour of Arvind Kejriwal’s has made BJP to change those strategies with which they managed to win in the recent past. Modi is no more the center of attraction in these elections, but the issues are. In fact, the entire Modi cabinet is trying hard to beat a man who calls himself a ‘Common Man’. In a way, Kejriwal has won, not electorally but morally.