Kejriwal is no Modi: In staying mum against Yadav, Bhushan, he's playing a dangerous game

Saying that the gloves are off in the Aam Aadmi Party is perhaps downplaying the brawl going on within the party. Following a series of allegations, ‘sting’ operations, counter-allegations, news of reconciliation, and the expulsion of two of the party’s former front-runners from the PAC, AAP’s troubles have now spilled out into the open and strewn all over the public domain. After Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan addressed an ‘open letter’ to party convener Kejriwal, they organised a press conference to fill the public in on their version of the many issues within the party. [caption id=“attachment_2173415” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. PTI[/caption] If their version of events is anything to go by, Yadav and Bhushan are of the opinion that Kejriwal is more aam dictator than aadmi, miffed at anyone who dares to question his decisions. With great despair ringing in his voice, Anand Kumar, a party member said, “This is what things have come to. We have to speak to Arvind ji through the media, through a press conference.” However, if Indian political traditions are anything to go by, a press conference is never a means for a conversation. Instead, it is a sign that there’s no possibility of any conversation left anymore. Yadav and Bhushan leaped into the battlefield with gusto and with the enthusiasm of a cricket team who gets to bat first, made every possible noise to paint Kejriwal and company seem like the evil stepmother. Kejriwal is a dictator, Kejriwal attempted to buy Congress MLAs much to the moral chagrin of the Bhushan camp, Kejriwal will run AAP and with it Delhi down to the ground. They on the other hand are the rebels who would sacrifice promising political careers if the party cleans its act up. “Party workers have been sending letters to me and Prashant ji, they want the party to be united,” Yadav said, thereby hinting that the grassroots workers too have to turn to them with their concerns for the health of the party. Immediately after the press conference was over, the Kejriwal camp jumped into action, organising a press conference to counter the allegations and write Bhushan and Yadav off as mere rabble-rousers. Party member Sanjay Singh, who is known to follow Kejriwal like his shadow, said, “I want to request Yadav, Bhushan to stop giving wrong messages to the AAP workers and the country.” In all this, Kejriwal maintains a steely silence, letting his lackeys defend him while his critics hurl one accusation after another at them. Perhaps, he thinks he can pull off a Modi circa 2014 and not respond to criticism or allegations of power tussle within the party. Remember Modi from a few years back and the ugly battle BJP was fighting with the old guard to make him the heir apparent of the party? The scenes were fairly similar. Advani resigned from the party, criticising Modi’s ascension, and several other leaders pulled a long face backing Advani. The nature of the allegations weren’t very different either. A large section of the party pointed to what they called Modi’s autocratic streak and suggested that BJP would no longer be a party run by a variety of ideas, but a one man machine. And history, as they say, is doomed to repeat itself. Like Advani, who was ‘promoted’ into obscurity, Bhushan and Yadav got the boot from a key AAP administrative unit. Kejriwal really seems to have learnt a lesson from his biggest adversary and has taken the Modi route of staying silent, while the rest of his supporters scramble to defend him. And it is somewhat true that like Modi and BJP, AAP and Kejriwal are somewhat synonymous. To the voting public which thrives on a personality cult, Kejriwal is as much the reason for AAP’s victories as he is for its failures. And Kejriwal is sharply aware of this too. As Firstpost editor R Jagannathan said , “No political party anywhere in India has succeeded in capturing power without a single powerful leader at the top. AAP under Kejriwal has recognised this reality and this is why his personality looms above the rest. The rest can carp and grumble, but only Kejriwal matters for AAP’s mass connect right now.” This seems to be the factor that Kejriwal is also counting on. Perhaps he hopes that this will blow over, with Bhushan and Yadav fading into insignificance, if he holds fort and plays the calmer, more resilient role by not personally responding to the allegations against him. And here’s where he is committing the big mistake by following the Modi school of politics. While he was being promoted within the BJP, Modi had proved himself to be a successful politician, one who had braved a public image disaster like the 2002 riots and yet managed to hold his sway over a state. He ran a state with an impeccable public relations machinery, where widespread allegations about communal prejudices hit fell flat thanks to the aggressive promotion of his development model. He was a successful strategiser, administrator and knew the nerve of the country well. While Kejriwal is synonymous to the party, he has been made so by vocal and repeated plaudits from the likes of Bhushan, Yadav and grassroots workers in the past. His claims of being the harbinger of justice wouldn’t have struck a chord with thousands of people had it not been for the strong backing of the rest of his party - most importantly, important social activist figures like Bhushan and Yadav. So when the same voices which propped him up turn around and call him a dictator, Kejriwal needs to speak up to dispel these doubts. When he doesn’t even attempt to make a conversation about his party - whose politics was admired for being inclusive and open to the public - he gives off the old school politician vibe that Modi pulls off with panache, he can’t. In fact, for BJP’s voters, Modi who keeps the party running. AAP’s voters are mostly those who admire it for being a young, righteous team of people. Modi’s silence translated into confidence to his voters, Kejriwal’s will be read as arrogance. And arrogance is an accusation that Kejriwal’s politics can brave for too long.