Why those who want Kejriwal for Delhi CM also want Modi for PM

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) loyalists could damage the prospects of Congress not just in the national capital but also at the center. Arvind Kejriwal is the most preferred choice for Delhi’s chief minister, as per the findings of a Delhi- pre poll survey conducted by CSDS- CNN IBN.  But fifty one per cent of those who want Arvind Kejriwal as the chief minister of Delhi want to see Narendra Modi as the country’s prime minister. Fourteen per cent of those who favoured Kejriwal as the chief minister also preferred him as the prime minister. Only seven per cent of them said that Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi should get the top job. The trend signifies that personalities will matter more than parties in the Delhi assembly poll and general election, said experts. [caption id=“attachment_1204255” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  AP[/caption] When asked about the profile of AAP and BJP voters, Jai Mrug, political analyst said, “They are exposed to the information technology revolution. They have access to various media which help them making informed choices.” Second commonality between those who prefer AAP and BJP, Mrug said, is that they believe in candidates who are strong enough to take on the establishment. “This is where Arvind Kejriwal fits the bill in Delhi. Irrespective of whether his party can solve the crucial issues or not, Kejriwal raised certain issues in a manner which made people believe that he was the real opposition and not the BJP.” According to the opinion poll, more than forty per cent of the respondents said that AAP should be given credit for raising the issue of inflated electricity bills most vociferously. This includes 37 per cent of Congress voters and 31 per cent of BJP voters. “Similarly, at the Centre, voters perceive Modi as the only BJP leader or the only national leader for that matter who is decisive and can be the answer to Manmohan Singh. He comes across as someone who has the ability to challenge the Nehru- Gandhi dynasty,” added Mrug. “In the ideal scenario, Congress voters should be loyal to Sheila Dikshit and BJP voters should stick to one of the BJP leaders. But they wanting Kejriwal as the CM indicates that this time, leadership is more important than ideology,” said political commentator Neerja Chowdhury. Pradip Kumar Datta, political science professor at Delhi University agreed. Datta said that what works for Kejriwal and Modi is that they are viewed as outsiders. “Voters look at Kejriwal as one of them, a common man who is trying to take on the establishment. He does not propagate the ideology of any traditional party. Similarly, Modi loyalists are not necessarily BJP fans. They see Modi as different from the BJP,” said Datta.