Contrasting politics in Dhaka and Delhi

HAVE any of our politicians been listening to Arvind Kejriwal's speeches, especially the one after he took oath as the chief minister of the Indian capital? I suppose not. To be fair, neither did the Indian politicians before his magnificent victory in the latest Delhi Assembly polls. If they had, they may not have met the debacle that they did. 

There was one word that kept appearing in Kejriwal's speeches. The word was "Aahankar" (English translation would be a mixer of arrogance, excessive self pride, trivialisation of others). He said that it was aahankar that led the BJP and the Congress to their defeat. However, far more significantly, he said it was his own aahankar and of his Aam Admi Party (AAP), after last year's stunning victory in Delhi Assembly polls, that led to his own debacle in the Lok Sabha polls 8 months ago in which BJP won all 7 seats in Delhi.

For those of our readers who need to refresh their memory, here are some relevant facts. The election for the Delhi Legislative Assembly was held in December 2013, in which Kejriwal and AAP participated for the first time and won 28 seats. This was a stunning performance for a party that was put together only the previous November, hardly a year before. The BJP emerged as the biggest party with 32 seats and Congress got only 8. Needing 36 seats in a house of 70, AAP formed a coalition with Congress and formed the Delhi government. But within 49 days, in a fit of immaturity on the issue of Lokpal Bill, Kejriwal resigned accusing the central government of non-cooperation. 

AAP and Kejriwal disappointed everybody -- its workers, supporters and sympathisers -- noting it to be a party of some novice do-gooders led by an impetuous person too impatient to be a good administrator. So AAP was written off as a one-off affair.

Kejriwal's action so angered his voters that they literally threw him out of Delhi. When the 16th Lok Sabha polls were held in April-May 2014, Delhi voters took their revenge on AAP and Kejriwal by voting him out of Lok Sabha seats from the capital. AAP lost in all the 7 seats allocated for Delhi.  The 'wonder boy' and his party drew a total blank.

For AAP and Kejriwal to come back, within 8 months of their complete rout, and win 67 out of 70 seats of Delhi Legislative Assembly is a fairytale story of regaining popularity made in Heaven. Seldom in the history of elections can one find comparative narratives of comeback, in such a short time and against such formidable opponents. This victory came in the face of "Modi-Wave" and the national sweep of BJP.  

It was his total defeat in the Lok Sobha polls that Kejriwal was referring to when he said that it was his own aahankar that brought him his defeat. Immediately after his swearing-in he said: "I begged forgiveness of the citizens of Delhi for letting them down the last time. They have forgiven me and now I will totally devote myself to their needs. I will work with everybody and also consult Kiren Bedi and Ajay Maken in running Delhi" -- the two defeated chief ministerial rivals from BJP and Congress.

It was fundamentally the anti-corruption plank of the AAP that caught the imagination of the general public. Corruption in high places is well known but it is the petty corruption -- money paid for every service to be got from the government -- is what Delhi-wallahs got totally indignant about and they wanted it to stop. 

To AAP's credit, they made their campaign contribution totally transparent making public -- on its website -- every significant contribution they got, refusing in some instances donation from sources they did not feel comfortable about. For a fund scarce party of the "common man" refusing donation impressed the voters to no end.

This writer happened to be in Delhi on the occasion of Kejriwal's oath taking and for a couple days after. As in any city the taxi drivers and scooter drivers are a very talkative lot and Delhi is far from being an exception. And the South Asian verbosity makes it all the more engaging. Not only that, they had many stories to tell -- about how he met Kejriwal, how many times he shook his hand, and that somebody he knew had lunch, dinner or chaiy with the AAP leader -- but the tone in which they narrated them made an indelible impression in my mind. In every instance they seemed to own the event, the process and the outcome. "We have shown them," "we have thrown BJP and Congress into the dustbin with our jhhaaru" (broom, which is the electoral symbol of AAP). "We taught those upstart BJP leaders, who had already become arrogant after Modi's victory, that we are the makers and breakers of 'netas' (leaders)." Modi for PM but Kejriwal for chief minister was what my interlocutors were telling me they wanted.

I was thoroughly taken by how common people owned the election. They felt empowered and strong and they were showing that strength through articulation and body language.  

The word "aahankar" got stuck in my mind. What has happened to humility in Bangladesh's politics? When was the last time we heard a leader saying sorry to the people for their mistakes or for the trouble that they make us live through. 

For 44 days now we have been subjected to the so-called oborodh and week-long continuous hartal. More than 100 people have died as a result of the so-called movement launched by Khaleda Zia, her party and her alliance. Did Khaleda Zia or anybody from her party say anything remotely close to "sorry" for the devastations they are causing to their lives She could come to the very people who she expects to vote her into power and, in a humble and yet justifying tone, say that "I am sorry for causing so much trouble but I had to do so because…..". It would have at least given us some sort of satisfaction that the BNP chief cares for the people who are suffering from. Leave alone "sorry," there has never been even a word of sympathy.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina may take the moral high ground on the street level violence and the petrol bombing of the innocent for the moment. But how she would have behaved if she was in the opposition and if Khaleda Zia had abolished the caretaker system and if she had 153 uncontested MPs in her Sangsad, and if she had a cabinet that included ministers from the official opposition in the parliament and if she had a handpicked leader of the opposition, and…  and… how Sheikh Hasina would have behaved is a question we don't feel very confident to answer. But we must add, she never used petrol bombs on the innocent.

I have admired India for its capacity to live with so much diversity and to do so in a democracy, however flawed. Watching Delhi voters exercise their voting rights with such majesty and seeing democracy function in such a dramatic fashion, for the first time in my life, I felt envious of my Indian friends. Here they were exercising their fundamental rights and we were denying the most basic of them to our people -- their right to live. We were burning them alive with petrol bombs. 

The writer is Editor and Publisher, The Daily Star.