Paanch Saal Sisodia? Here's what Kejriwal's real gameplan may be

If the BJP is in any doubt about the strength and intentions of Arvind Kejriwal and his guerilla army of volunteers, his decision of appointing Manish Sisodia as Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi and to not keep any portfolio to himself should make it crystal clear. Taken together with his speech on 14 February, after the oath-taking ceremony, no one should anymore misread his intentions. These are his real goals. One, he has no intention to limit his ambitions to Delhi. He does not see himself as CM of Delhi. His real aim is to use Delhi as the mountain top from which to survey his future expansion plans and let others see him as the shining future of India. [caption id=“attachment_2099799” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  AAP chief and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. AFP[/caption] Two, Manish Sisodia will be the effective Chief Minister of Delhi, and Kejriwal will only intervene when needed. Paanch Saal Kejriwal was the slogan used to convince Delhi he was not going to rush off to Varanasi and Gujarat in pursuit of his ambitions. It was meant to assure Delhi citizens he would be there for them. However, this will be true now only to a limited extent. What Delhi will get is Paanch Saal Sisodia, with Kejriwal as the virtual CM. Three, the frequent references to “ahankar” in his Ramlila speech are actually only about himself. Kejriwal is the man with huge power ambitions, and he was essentially telling himself to not lose this huge national opportunity by going after short-term petty gains in Delhi, which almost destroyed his political career last February. Also, talking about “ahankar” goes down well with the public - it makes him sound humble, when that is not the case at all. Narendra Modi is often held out as the personification of “ahankar”, but “humble” Kejriwal is really its most secret practitioner. Hence the repeated references to how he has not won, but Delhi has; how he is not the CM, but the whole of Delhi is. This is, of course, nonsense, but is a useful cloak to wrap his ambitions in. Four, Kejriwal also made another reference to ambitions: he used the word “ahankar” to deny his party would be contesting elections in Bengaluru and other metros or states. He said this was “ahankar” and he was focused on Delhi. This statement is actually the exact opposite of his real intent. It is meant to deliberately mislead other political parties, so that he can then creep up on them while they continue to function the same way as before. To conceal his ambitions, Kejriwal needs his potential future rivals to be lulled into a false sense of complacency - as was the case with the BJP in Delhi - so that when his time comes, he and AAP can spring a surprise on them. Kejriwal knows that the prime opposition space is open to him because the Congress is in a state of collapse; one hard knock and it may shatter. If the BJP and regional parties think Kejriwal and AAP are going to be a local Delhi phenomenon, they are living in a fool’s paradise. Staying in Delhi, much less getting actively involved in the nitty-gritty of running a city-state, is not what Kejriwal has envisioned for himself. Delhi is merely a stepping stone to the rest of India. Five, being a CM without any portfolios also allows Kejriwal to distance himself from any of the mistakes made by Sisodia and his ministerial colleagues. He can then step in and reverse a bad policy and claim credit for it. His ability to use apology as a political strength will be a huge help. Other politicians need to learn from this, for apologies work well in India. We see apologies as a substitute for responsibility and justice. Modi does not usually apologise, which means, indirectly he holds himself responsible for things that go wrong under his watch. Six, how will Kejriwal explain his tours of India when he is also Delhi CM? There are many ways to be CM and still cultivate a national presence. For example, he can go to Bengaluru and feign interest in learning more from this city so that he can use the same ideas in Delhi. This will flatter Bengaluru residents, while also establishing that he works for Delhi. This is not to say Kejriwal is not all that he seems. I have no doubt his anti-corruption intentions are clear. He will certainly use that as his calling card everywhere, and it is a strong card to play anywhere. But governing a state like Delhi can also dent his image, for real governance calls for many compromises in the actual running of an administration. A pure anti-corruption crusader cannot ensure governance, for corruption is not a black-and-white issue where there are good guys and bad guys. They are lots of grey areas to negotiate. Kejriwal’s problem is that to nurture his political future, he had to first pretend Delhi was his only goal. But the truth is Delhi is too small for Kejriwal. He needed to say he will be CM for five years and yet stay away from it for seeding his own long-term gameplan. Moreover, staying CM gives him visibility and a chance to make big speeches on formal occasions - something that would be denied to a mere party president. He can now travel the world to raise money from India’s diaspora - just like the BJP does. Make no mistake, Kejriwal is not only what he claims to be. Delhi will get Paanch Saal Sisodia, while Kejriwal will spend the next Paanch Saal staking out his national political future even while remaining Delhi CM. He is India’s shrewdest politician. The only thing that remains to be seen is if his political rivals go back to sleep or will work to call his bluff and be wary of him. Also, overssmart politicians tend to be too clever by half - as we saw in Delhi last year. Kejriwal has as much of a potential to self-destruct as anyone else. But his rivals - present and future - shouldn’t be betting on his capacity to self-destruct. Kejriwal has also realised that his “ahankar” can prevent him from realising his dreams. Only time will tell whether Kejriwal has evolved a new form of governance in Delhi where the only job of the leader is monitoring and feedback, or merely a more sophisticated version of the Sonia Gandhi system of power without responsibility.