Don’t write off India’s political star, Kejriwal, despite resignation

For someone who heads a very successful political startup, Arvind Kejriwal has always enjoyed a prime space in the spotlight, unlike most other politicians in India.

Ever since the 55-year-old former bureaucrat and social activist burst into the political stage some 12 years ago, the former chief minister of Delhi – the national capital – has firmly stayed both in the limelight and popular imagination, rallying those who support him and riling many others who see him as nothing but a maverick without much substance.

The past few days have been no different. Set free on bail by the Supreme Court – the country's top court – after several months in jail on hitherto unproven charges of corruption, Kejriwal lived up to his reputation of springing surprises by suddenly announcing his resignation earlier this week as the chief minister.

It stumped everyone and left public opinion divided, as always.

Widely acknowledged as a politician with a rare ability for out-of-the-box thinking, Kejriwal's latest move months ahead of elections to the Delhi assembly is hogging the headlines again, with most observers scratching their head, unable to decipher what the sudden resignation could mean.

Has an adventurist Kejriwal committed a political harakiri, or will this go down as his trademark mark bold move to reclaim the moral highground following his incarceration?

It is difficult to make sense of Kejriwal afterall.

The agitator

Never a conventional politician, he rode on the popularity and mass appeal of an anti-corruption movement in 2011 to float his own political outfit, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which translates to the common man’s party. His and his party's upward trajectory has been stunning since.

AAP rules Delhi and also the important state of Punjab.

Though AAP belied initial expectations of expanding across the country and becoming a pan-India political party in a short time, there is no denying that the party has tasted success as few others in the fray.

Kejriwal enjoys significant currency in a remarkably divided polity, and AAP has established its footprint in several states such as Punjab, Goa and Gujarat, besides its traditional stronghold of Delhi.

And last year, the Election Commission of India – the central electoral authority - declared it to be a national party, one among only six parties such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Rahul Gandhi's Congress to enjoy such a status.

To be a national outfit, a political party must muster a necessary threshold such as a certain percentage of popular votes and a minimum number of seats in the legislature.

While many older parties in power in the provinces failed to pass, the AAP qualified. In Gujarat - Modi's home state - it's performance was truly stunning. Though BJP retained power in the last state elections, AAP emerged as a serious contender, securing almost 13 percent of the votes polled.

Many believe AAP's meteoric rise is behind Kejriwal's mounting troubles. The BJP is seemingly rattled by its steady rise and is allegedly targeting the party.

It has brought in legislations to weaken the Delhi government that Kejriwal headed till he quit, and almost handed over the reigns of the administration to an unelected lieutenant-governor appointed by the federal government.

Corruption allegations and political fracas

Kejriwal and several other senior AAP functionaries have also been subjected to what many believe is a witchhunt unleashed by central probe agencies such as the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate, which tackles financial crime.

Myriad cases have been slapped on Kejriwal and his fellow AAP leaders, and several of them jailed for varying periods.

Kejriwal spent six months in jail on allegations of taking bribes for a policy allegedly tailor-made to benefit a liquor firm.

Though no clinching evidence has yet emerged nailing Kejriwal, subsequent disclosures ironically point to the BJP profiting to the tune of millions of rupees from the same company in the guise of electoral donations.

Despite facing the full might of the state, Kejriwal is far from being down and out.

Theatrics and springing up surprises being his strong points, he had refused to step down as the chief minister on being arrested and jailed - something that elected officials routinely do. On being set free, he took everyone by surprise by resigning.

It is difficult to keep pace with Kejriwal's unpredictability, and the BJP cannot be wholly faulted for not knowing how to respond to his abrupt resignation.

If the BJP had hoped to turn the tables on Kejriwal by portraying him to be corrupt, the AAP leader is seeking to capitalise on it instead by seeking to take a high moral ground and embracing martyrdom.

"The people will decide if I am corrupt or not" Kejriwal now insists.

Viewed by many as a rank opportunist - Kejriwal after all played the soft Hindutva card once to thwart majoritarian BJP'S religious politics by demanding that pictures of Hindu deities be printed on currency notes - there is grudging unanimity that the AAP leader has the unique ability to turn adversity into opportunity.

His surprise resignation could be yet another example of Kejriwal catching his opponents wrong-footed.

For one, his jailing and the graft accusations have not derailed his political ambitions. They are just testing his political acumen, and the Kejriwal phenomenon is far from running its full course.