Arvind Kejriwal’s New Delhi victory has the BJP blushing. Can his AAP take on Modi at the national level?
- The re-elected chief minister claimed victory on the back of pro-poor policies while maintaining the balancing act of non-discriminatory Hindu bona fides
- But experts are divided on whether the Aam Aadmi Party’s specific approach to winning the capital can be replicated around the country
In more ways than one, Kejriwal’s gesture towards Hanuman is emblematic of the victory of his young political outfit Aam Aadmi Party (AAP, or the Common Man’s Party) against Modi’s ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Just days ahead of the polling, a journalist dared Kejriwal to recite the Hanuman Chalisa, a set of hymns praising the deity, to prove his Hindu bona fides. His successful rendition of the hymns, which are vastly popular across India’s Hindi-speaking heartland, went viral on social media and was shown on television channels around the country.
Kejriwal, who won the 2006 Ramon Magsaysay award for his anti-corruption work before entering politics, has proved a dab hand with this sort of pragmatic, soft approach to Hindutva – the predominant form of Hindu nationalist ideology in India.
Not only has this kept him apart from the BJP’s muscular take on Hindutva, it has allowed him to carve a political niche for himself without directly confronting Modi on controversial policies such as the prime minister’s implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act or the removal of Kashmir’s special status.
