Delhi Polls' outcome: the inevitable has happened

Thoudam Imomacha Singh *

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Leader Arvind Kejriwal :: Pix - Wikipedia/TY(ThinkingYouth)

During the poll-campaign for the Delhi Assembly, Amit Shah had said if the BJP could win Delhi, nobody could stop his party. Now, the BJP Chief’s statement has become a faux-pass.

On the other hand the BJP’s bet-noir Arvind Kejriwal has been successfully maintaining his sangfroid since his resignation from a 49 – day Delhi Chief Ministership.

Even after he was jettisoned from the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat by Narendra Modi, who is right now the Prime Minister of India, Arvind Kejriwal remained a recluse.

For sometime Arvind Kejriwal seemed to be publicly dormant but not extinct. In fact, during this period of hibernation, Kejriwal had done immense political homework and he has now proved his mettle and swept the Delhi Assembly polls in a massive and unprecedented manner.

The paradigm of the Aam Admi Party (APP) is corruption-free-politics. From day one of his election campaign, Arvind Kejriwal proposed issue-based discussions. He was not used to call his political contenders names, but his political luxury is to offer humble response to the implicit attacks launched on his common men style of politics.

When the Sahi Imman of Jamma Masjid offered him the entire Delhi Muslim support with his (Immam’s) “Fatwa”, Kejriwal did not accept but he had the gesture of saying “Thank you”.

The reason he gave about this non-acceptance of Muslim support was that the Aam Admi Party (APP) would not be able to enjoy the pleasure of communal politics or any sort of politics mixed up with caste or religion.

Arvind Kejriwal is now the Chief Minister designate of Delhi, he is in the wings for the swearing- in ceremony. Kejriwal has also given his statement that he would be meeting the Prime Minister after the swearing-in is over.

Prior to his statement, the Prime Minister has also congratulated him and also the Prime Minister promised him all sorts of help from the Centre in his mission to make Delhi a World Class city.

In the election campaign, the trump card that Kejriwal played was the burning issue of eradicating corruption from society and public-life and the development of Delhi in certain aspects of the livelihood of the Delhiites.

Here, the author would like the Chief Minister designate of Delhi to remember the dictum that wisdom without experience is incomplete and he certainly need counsel. The Chief Minister of Delhi has to share the responsibility of ruling Delhi with the Lieutenant Governor, (L.G.) of Delhi since Delhi is a Capital Union Territory.

Here lies piecemeal power and responsibilities in the administration of Delhi. Another hiccup here is that the Delhi Administration has limited control over law and order and that of the Delhi Police.

The Delhi Police has been in the form of a ploy from the Centre at certain critical junctures of the Delhi Administration in an off and on manner. This is a missing link in the administration of Delhi.

Unless such a missing link is retrieved, the loopholes with the Delhi Administration would remain. This is something to be looked into seriously. So, the Capital Union Territory needs to be turned into a full fledged state by fulfilling the required constitutional proprieties.

In the meanwhile, Kejriwal has been preaching certain principles that he is now supposed to translate into practice the promises he had made to the Delhiites during his election campaign.

Unless that could be fulfilled, the forthcoming Kejriwal dispensation may also become abominable. There can be no room for being pretensions. Therefore, here lies Kejriwal’s hurdle.

Because power always comes with more responsibilities. The mandate Kejriwal enjoys is 67 seats out of 70 seats in the Delhi Assembly.

Kejriwal and AAP must not forget, they owe something special to the people in Delhi.