Did Modi do Kejriwal a favour by calling him Pak agent AK-49?

When Arvind Kejriwal was planning his dramatic atheist-to-believer transformation spectacle, just pitch perfect for his Varanasi debut, Narendra Modi’s speechwriter was clearly burning his midnight oil to come up with a fitting political pseudonym for him. What could be a loaded innuendo, something that leaves little to the imagination, and stirs Kejriwal- haters and Modi’s admirers to zealous frenzy? What could trend on Twitter right away and resonate in conversations for days to come? The answer was inspired: AK 49. Is it loaded enough? Let’s see. Modi threw this at his fans while he was addressing a rally in Jammu and Kashmir, a space where guns, especially combat rifles, are a fearful reality. Insurgency, inter-community clashes, civilian-Army clashes, ceasefire violations - what could possibly repel a Jammu and Kashmir voter than the image of a gun? So, Arvind Kejriwal was quickly likened to what is the most dreadful reality of an average Kashmiri’s life. On paper, there was word play combined with an undeniable truth of Kejriwal’s political record at play - Arvind Kejriwal (AK) who was in power in Delhi for 49 days. In a psychological space, Kejriwal immediately evoked images of unrest and violence, Modi chose to not leave much to his audience’s power of imagination when he added the words ‘Pakistani agent’ to it. So yes, AK49 immediately climbed the rung of Twitter trends and became a top trend. There are a few things Modi did right, for himself, by calling Kejriwal AK-49. Firstly, he just strengthened his image as a combative nationalist for those who admire that brand of nationalism - the most effective and crowd pleasing way of proving yourself as a full-blooded patriot in India is to declare war, even if verbal, on Pakistan. Better still if you label one of your country-men as an evil Pakistani presence and vow to rout him. To some, it is frightfully reminiscent of Sunny Deol films in his non heyday, but to several more, it strikes a certain kind of chord. [caption id=“attachment_1453327” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Narendra Modi and Arvind Kejriwal. Agencies.[/caption] Secondly, what better way to imply that a politician is completely unsuitable for anything in India than calling him something Pakistani before the crowds? In these times of turmoil, even a Pakistani crow is pretty much despicable for people who have little patience for details and distinctions. So Modi effectively said that while Kejriwal might be slathering his forehead with holy sandalwood paste in Varanasi, his sin - of being a Pakistani agent- is actually far greater. So if Kejriwal is eyeing a piece of the Hindu vote-bank, Modi sought to demolish it with one multifaceted accusation. Thirdly, in Jammu and Kashmir, considered a vulnerable electorate seized by the various atrocities of external disturbances and internal strife, a pitch like AAP’s has the potential to resonate. The anti-all establishment, the anti-corruption and pro-grassroots poll plank might find an audience in Kashmir quite unlike anywhere else. Alongside issues faced by the rest of the country, Kashmiri residents also tend to perceive themselves as victims of government establishments, thanks to the standing discord with the army in several pockets. Locally therefore, Modi brandished the best weapon he could, to cut through AAP roots if any. And Kashmir won over, would be a victory difficult to match. However, he also did Arvind Kejriwal quite a few favours. Firstly, by calling him an anti-national Pakistani agent, Modi let Kejriwal share his own much used and mostly successful victimhood stance. While he himself keeps harping on the relentless and unfair censuring by Congress, he turned around and did exactly the same with Kejriwal. Now it’s fair to call Kejriwal an incompetent administrator, it is fair to call him a man with no credible political or economic vision for the country, it is also possibly fair to call him an anarchist or chaos-lover referring to his Delhi track record, but a Pakistani agent? Surely not. Nothing in Kejriwal’s brief political record can justify calling him a ‘Pakistani agent’. Will Kejriwal let this pass without a verbal storm? No, he won’t. He will, and rightly, say that Modi is going out of his way to slander and persecute him with no valid proof. He will also sound aghast, shocked and ask the voters, what has he done, apart from pointing out the unholy politician-corporate-black money nexus, to warrant being called a Pakistani agent? He will then probably ask, why is Modi in a hurry to discredit him? Is it because he is shaken, has a two-year-old party and the aam aadmi suddenly pulled the plug on the ‘Modi wave’? The BJP will choose to not answer, but the questions will nevertheless hang heavy on their poll narrative. Secondly, while no one heard even a squeak from Modi in Gujarat, this time he made the mistake of acknowledging Arvind Kejriwal. Thereby admitting that he is a political presence of consequence, one that needs countering by him. Also, by hastily lobbing unfounded accusations at Kejriwal (something he hasn’t quite done against even Rahul Gandhi in his loftiest metaphors), he made the carefully and laboriously constructed cloud of invincibility around him seem thin at places. Thirdly, he mentioned Kejriwal in a state and place the AAP chief has neither visited, nor announced plans to visit. Except for the Prashant Bhushan botch up, which the party quickly disowned, Kashmir has not figured prominently in AAP’s narrative either. There is no proof either that the party is making strong inroads in Kashmir. Like BJP, AAP doesn’t have a mammoth publicity machinery rolling across all conventional media spaces. Chances are, nobody would have spared much thought to Arvind Kejriwal, had Modi not decided to pick him out and crucify him as a ‘Pakistani agent’. Would Kashmir want to know who this Pakistani agent and whether Modi is fair to call him one? Possibly yes. In fact, that’s an accusation that is also an integral part of Kashmir’s conflicted socio-political discourse, one that stalks many Kashmiri homes. If things go really wrong for BJP, then Modi might have just created an audience for Kejriwal. And that might not be too hyperbolic an assumption. The Hindustan Times reports that Kejriwal’s party received more than Rs. 1 crore on Wednesday as donations. Some 1,208 donors contributed online. Did Modi just take some steam off his own wave and gift a sympathy wave to AAP?