Don't have magic wand, takes time to bring change: Kejriwal

Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal has promised transparency, clean politics and a lot more in the event that the party comes to power in the Delhi elections. But with the polls just around the corner, he’s keen to ensure that people don’t have unrealistic expectations. In an exclusive interview to Economic Times, Kejriwal said: Obviously there are conflicting interests, but if you speak to two conflicting parties with honesty of purpose, there is always a solution available. But having said that, people’s expectations from the party have become really big and that scares me sometimes. Unko lagta hai ki humare aane se Ram Rajya aa jayega (they feel that we will establish an ideal state). But now I have started telling them that I don’t have a magic wand and it takes time to bring in change. However, the AAP chief is clear that there will be no turning back on its anti-corruption agenda or the decision to create the Jan Lokpal, and is very clear that the party has enough support to survive even without him. [caption id=“attachment_1183781” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Kejriwal during a rally. Naresh Sharma/ Firstpost[/caption] But in the event that all their poll projections do come unstuck, Kejriwal has said that the party will not back out of politics any time soon and though they have plans for a splash in national politics, they are still a long way off from deciding how and when to make it. And while he has been vitriolic in his criticism of Delhi’s politicians he was far more restrained in his criticism of the BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, blaming him for polarising people during the riots, but blaming him for little else. Kejriwal’s statements come soon after the party projected itself ahead in 33 seats for the upcoming elections and mean the party could be on the verge of becoming the second largest party in the national capital. So why the restraint? For Kejriwal, the Delhi election is possibly a stepping stone into national politics but for the party that has relied on his charisma so far, it will need more than just him to become a competitor in national politics. “In rural Karnataka, for example, the party would have to identify someone local who people could relate to. Many of them might not know Arvind,” Prithvi Reddy, a member of the AAP’s national executive council told _Firstpost_ earlier . For a party that constantly faces the allegations of being a spoiler for the BJP in the Delhi elections , it may explain why he’s choosing not to take on Modi, who is the party’s face for not only the national elections but even the states. Kejriwal and the AAP may have its sights set on bigger things after the Delhi elections, but the party chief seems to be clear that until the results are in, we may see a more restrained version of him.