Arvind Kejriwal came into the national scene during the India Against Corruption campaign headed by Anna Hazare.
This campaign, that caught the public’s attention, was mounted based on corruption charges against the then Congress government led by Dr. Manmohan Singh.
Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets after the then CAG, Vinod Rai, announced that Government of India had lost 1,76,000 Crores in 2G Spectrum Sales. The blazing headlines on most newspapers and 24/7 coverage of the agitation set the stage for Congress defeat in the 2014 elections. The RSS and BJP gave tacit support to this agitation and saw it as a way to capture power at the center. Eventually, Congress was routed in the 2014 elections, returning with just 55 seats. This defeat brought Narendra Modi and BJP to the forefront.
Thus one can say that Arvind Kejriwal set the stage for India to be governed by BJP, a fate that continues till date.
Arvind Kejriwal contested the Delhi state elections but could not get a majority the first time around. He had to cut a sorry figure and take the help of Congress, the very party that he had agitated against, to form the government. That government did not last for long, in fact he resigned in 47 days, gaining the moniker AK47.
After that resignation, BJP, which was ruling at the center, delayed the elections for one full year but Arvind Kejriwal returned with a thumping majority the next time, securing 67 out of 70 seats, an almost clean sweep, Congress scored a big zero and BJP managed just three seats. This was in 2015.
Then in 2020, five years later, Arvind Kejriwal’s party, AAP, once again retained Delhi, this time getting 62 seats out of 70, while BJP was able to get 8 seats and the Congress once again returned empty handed.
Before the 2014 agitation, Arvind Kejriwal had strong views on politicians and how they should live in public life. He was against any VIP culture, fancy houses, entourage of vehicles, etc.
After coming to power, he went back on all these and today enjoys all the perks of power.
Recently, he was arrested by ED in the Excise Scam case and was detained in Tihar Jail.
Many months later, he got bail and is now out on bail. After coming out of jail, he quit as the CM of the state and handed over charge to his close confidant, Atishi Marlena.
Today, there is news that he is vacating the bungalow allotted to him as the CM of the state and is moving out.
But, he is not returning to any humble abode.
He is moving into the bungalow allotted to his Rajya Sabha MP, Ashok Mittal in Lutyens Delhi.
Goes to show that it is very difficult to give up the trappings of power.
