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AAP is doing what it takes to articulate its \u2018Modi vs Kejriwal in 2024\u2019 campaign. But can Kejriwal measure up to Modi\u2019s larger than life persona or the BJP\u2019s skills of out-manoeuvring its opponent?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n When Manish Sisodia, Delhi\u2019s Deputy Chief Minister, declared himself to be a \u201cdescendant of Maharana Pratap\u201d and vowed to fight till death, he sounded a war cry: loud and clear: \u201cI will cut off my head but will not bow down to the corrupt and conspirators\u201d, Sisodia had publicly stated.<\/p>\n His angst: the BJP government targeting him unfairly and wanting to offer him crumbs of office if he split the Aam Aadmi Party: \u201cThey asked me to be their CM candidate because they don\u2019t have a face for the post in Delhi\u201d, Sisodia alleged. This, he said, came with an offer\u00a0\u00a0to close all cases registered against him by the CBI and Enforcement Directorate.<\/p>\n As of now, the heat is on Sisodia. Earlier this month, the CBI\u00a0raided his home in New Delhi. He is named the principal accused\u00a0in the controversial excise policy case of the Delhi government.<\/p>\n A trusted aide of Kejriwal, Sisodia is virtually running the government. The BJP had recently pointed out that a single minister, read Sisodia, was allocated 18 major departments of the 29 listed ones of the Delhi government.<\/p>\n The Excise department is headed by Sisodia and the excise policy, which is under fire, comes within the department\u2019s purview.<\/p>\n The controversial policy was introduced last year with a bid to reform the retail liquor sector, in addition to bumping\u00a0up revenue by a few thousand crores.<\/p>\n The route: shut down government operated vends and allow private players to enter.<\/p>\n Gone were the iron grilled, government run stuffy and suffocated outlets to be replaced by well lit, walk in the air-conditioned stores where customers could look around and reach out to brands of their choice. The reform also generated additional revenue.<\/p>\n In other words elevate drinking to an experience and also make money.<\/p>\n The \u201cjoy\u201d, if at all, was short-lived.<\/p>\n In less than nine months, the policy was withdrawn after Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, Vinai Kumar Saxena recommended a CBI probe into alleged irregularities. This was a consequence of a report by Delhi\u2019s Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar wherein \u201cdeliberate and gross procedural lapses\u201d to provide post-tender \u201cundue benefits to liquor licensees\u201d were listed.<\/p>\n Following the raids, Sisodia has said that he would be arrested soon, like his colleague Satyendra Jain.<\/p>\n Jain, the erstwhile Health Minister in Kejriwal\u2019s government, was arrested earlier this year in a money laundering case. He has been in jail since May.<\/p>\n While Kejriwal has alleged that cases against his ministers are false, Sisodia has dared the BJP to do what it wants. His Maratha blood is clearly on the boil.<\/p>\n The jury is out whether this is a case of corruption or political vendetta. Or the fact that the BJP is nervous about the rise of AAP. The wounds of Punjab are raw wherein the BJP got a drubbing. But more important is the writing on the wall particularly with the forthcoming state elections in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat where AAP has made enviable in-roads.<\/p>\n Therefore if Kejriwal is asking whether this is \u201crevenge\u201d for Punjab or nervousness for forthcoming state elections, he is bang on.<\/p>\n Elections to the states of Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat are due before the end of this year and AAP seems upbeat about expanding its footprint. Its enviable performance in Punjab has given it the confidence to not only position itself against the BJP but also upstage it.<\/p>\n The logic: if in Punjab AAP could win 92 of the 117 seats, then why not Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat?<\/p>\n Call it a pipedream if you will, but the new-founded confidence is not baseless.<\/p>\n Having roared in Punjab and vanquishing all else and more importantly emerging as the only regional party to govern two states, AAP has enough reason to smile. Whether it will have the last laugh remains to be seen given that Gujarat or Himachal Pradesh are no cakewalk. Neither was Punjab but having fared well there, AAP\u2019s hopes have risen.<\/p>\n Punjab was a different ball game because the BJP virtually had no presence there and the Congress was fast losing its sheen. Add to that the state\u2019s proximity to Delhi, where Kejriwal rules, the stories about it being a government of freebies travelled fast. The strategy worked and AAP rode to power.<\/p>\n But Gujarat is a different story. For one it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s home state; for another BJP has ruled for three decades and intends to go for the kill yet again. For the BJP it is a prestige battle because it cannot afford to lose on the PM\u2019s home turf.<\/p>\n However, the anti-incumbency factor stares the saffron Party in the face.<\/p>\n In 2017, the BJP was down to 99 seats from 115 it won in 2014. Five years down the line, the loss could be higher. However this does not necessarily mean AAP moving in. It sure is a factor to reckon with but whether it will transform into a force remains to be seen. Having said that one cannot deny that it has the makings of one.<\/p>\n However upbeat it may sound, even by its own arithmetic AAP is not aiming for a shot at power in the Centre. While that is its long term goal, as of now it is wanting to position itself as the main opposition Party to take on the BJP. In other words, push out the Congress and occupy the space that it is forced to vacate.<\/p>\n Call it ambition if you will but AAP is not off the mark. Given its\u00a02021 performance in the Surat Municipal Corporation polls where it bagged 27 seats, it has reasons to be optimistic.<\/p>\n But the battle is not confined to the states. It is about grabbing the national space. 2024 may be a tad early but AAP is positioning itself to play a national role. Having tasted blood with the Punjab-win, it is now raring to go.<\/p>\n The first step of the strategy is to\u00a0convert the electoral battle to be one between BJP and AAP rather than the BJP and Congress. That done it will then pitch itself as an alternative to the BJP in the hope to govern the country rather than remain a state player.<\/p>\n This being the big picture, AAP is doing what it takes to articulate its\u00a0Modi vs Kejriwal in 2024\u00a0<\/em>campaign. AAP\u2019s claim of Prime Minister Modi being \u201crattled\u201d by AAP growing popularity may sound a bit exaggerated but it is certainly not unfounded.<\/p>\n To say that this is not giving the BJP sleepless nights would be pushing things under the carpet. Or burying one\u2019s head in the sand like an ostrich pretending no one is coming. The truth is that AAP is knocking at the door.<\/p>\n Equally, AAP seems to be jumping the gun because neither Kejriwal nor his party organisation can measure up to Modi\u2019s larger than life persona or the BJP\u2019s skills of out-manoeuvring its opponent.<\/p>\n Pitch Modi\u2019s welfare schemes against Kejriwal\u2019s freebies and BJP has a head start.<\/p>\n This is not to suggest that the freebies strategy\u00a0has not worked. It sure has, even though\u00a0there is a question mark on whether that would be the sole criteria for the electorate to vote for Kejriwal. Freebies may be a temptation but\u00a0whether the electorate will barter Modi\u2019s brand of developmental politics and his long term vision for short term freebies remains to be seen.<\/p>\n When it comes to national politics, stature is the key. On that count, Prime Minister Modi is unmatched. His visibly positioning India on the world stage as a country to watch has injected a sense of pride among Indians. Kejriwal on the other hand seems a local, homemade brand with a limited perspective.<\/p>\n Equally, the perception that\u00a0Modi is a doer who heads a government that works, gives the ruling dispensation a head-start.\u00a0For the diminutive Kejriwal to measure up to Modi\u2019s proverbial 56\u201d chest is a long haul but a beginning has been made. So even if 2024 is round-Modi, Kejriwal is the man to watch in the long run.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" AAP is doing what it takes to articulate its \u2018Modi vs Kejriwal in 2024\u2019 campaign. But can Kejriwal measure up to Modi\u2019s larger than life persona or the BJP\u2019s skills of out-manoeuvring its opponent? When Manish Sisodia, Delhi\u2019s Deputy Chief Minister, declared himself to be a \u201cdescendant of Maharana Pratap\u201d and vowed to fight till […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":128,"featured_media":339310,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[23,2205],"tags":[15370,306],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339309"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/users\/128"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=339309"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339309\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":339311,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339309\/revisions\/339311"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/media\/339310"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=339309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=339309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=339309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}