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Ahead of the February 5 Delhi assembly polls, AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal’s personal image and integrity seem to have taken a beating over the opulent renovation of his official residence when he was chief minister
Mamata Banerjee’s shrewdness in covering and shielding herself from the Narada-Saradha scams could not be replicated by Arvind Kejriwal. File pic/PTI
Mamata Banerjee and Arvind Kejriwal have something in common. Both have carved their political careers on the image of being down-to-earth, no-frills-attached politicians.
Mamata Banerjee perfected this cult by being seen in crisp cotton sarees, usually white or cream with a thin border, hawai chappals, and driven in a small Maruti car by her trusted aide. Long after she became West Bengal chief minister, she would still be seen in her old home on Kolkata’s Harish Chatterjee Lane.
Similarly, Arvind Kejriwal projected himself as the “Aam Aadmi ka neta” by wearing an untucked cotton shirt over trousers, simple chappals, and travelling in a Wagon R car.
But that’s where the similarity ends. In the aggressive, high-stakes state polls, while the Bharatiya Janata Party battered Mamata with corruption charges, little in her lifestyle gave the impression that what the BJP said about her alleged corruption could stick. The shrewd politician that she is, Mamata Banerjee knows that appearances matter in politics. She has ensured that she looks no different from the day when she was seen walking briskly in Singur and Nandigram in her hawai chappals. Those who travel with her say she munches muri (a typical Bengali snack of flattened rice) and chana.
But Kejriwal’s attempts to look humble have crumbled, giving huge ammunition to the BJP. The “Sheesh Mahal“, as it’s come to be called by the BJP, is a CM residence, which shows the opulent lifestyle of the former chief minister and his family. And the attempt to project himself as a simple leader has little credibility left. The BJP, in fact, has used the “Sheesh Mahal” pictures and a CAG report to make the point that Kejriwal is no longer a “kattar imaandaar” and that his attempt to look simple and common is just an act.
The BJP’s ad campaigns are an attempt to disrobe this carefully cultivated image of Kejriwal, who is also called the “muffler man” by many. Mamata Banerjee’s shrewdness in covering and shielding herself from the Narada-Saradha scams could not be replicated by Kejriwal.
The BJP is going to town with Arvind Kejriwal’s image—to make the point of the “emperor’s new clothes”. The party hopes to strip Kejriwal of further credibility as the heat and dust of the Delhi elections get intense.
