Arvind Kejriwal: Activist and politician with many a surprise up his sleeve

NEW DELHI: Arvind Kejriwal is a politician who probably likes to catch people unawares. Beset by charges of corruption, the AAP supremo resigned as Delhi chief minister on Tuesday and sought a referendum on his “politics of honesty”, the second time he has done so in his 11-year political career.

Two days after he was released from Tihar Jail in the excise policy graft case, Kejriwal took everyone by complete surprise when he announced on Sunday he would resign as chief minister and return only if people give him a "certificate of honesty" in the upcoming Delhi Assembly polls. Ever the politician with an eye on theatrical effect, he also sought early polls in the city.

Clever politics or foolish overreach. The jury will be out on whether Kejrwial played his cards wisely or miscalculated the risk till elections, due in February, are held. But the 55-year-old, who tendered his resignation to Lt Governor V K Saxena on Tuesday after picking senior AAP leader Atishi as his successor in the post, is someone who clearly enjoys doing the unexpected.

In December 2013, he took oath of office as chief minister for the first time. Just 49 days later,on February 14, 2014, he quit in a blaze of headlines after AAP's alliance partner Congress opposed his pet project "Janlokpal Bill".

That dramatic resignation was preceded by visuals of him sleeping in his blue Wagon R in the cold Delhi winter as he staged his protest.

Kejriwal, who first came into the limelight as part of Anna Hazare’s India Against Corruption campaign, worked hard to seal his image as an everyday man holding his values close to his heart.

Declaring his latest decision to resign on Sunday, the IIT graduate and one-time RTI activist said he had stepped down first in 2014 because of his "principles".

"Kejriwal has a mind of his own and he is always prepared to experiment and try political moves that border the risky territory. Maybe he is on the path of becoming the biggest political maverick in the history of the country's politics," a senior party leader told PTI on condition of anonymity after his decision to step down.

Kejriwal was not born into politics and chose not to join an established party but form his own from the ground up. The cleverly named Aam Aadmi Party has been led almost singlehandedly by him.

His party – projecting itself as a champion of public welfare initiatives to provide free electricity and water supply, health and education among others -- has quickly grown in the fiercely contested political arena of the country.

In 2013, when AAP made its maiden foray into electoral politics, the party won 28 of 70 assembly seats. It has now become the third largest national party of the country after the BJP and Congress.

In April last year, the Election Commission recognised the AAP as a national party based on its electoral performance in four states — Delhi, Goa, Punjab and Gujarat.

In Delhi, the AAP rode the Kejriwal popularity wave to come back to power in Delhi in 2015 and 2020 winning 67 and 62 seats respectively, practically obliterating the opposition BJP and Congress in assembly polls.

In March 2022, the party swept Punjab, winning 92 of the 117 assembly seats.

However, Kejriwal’s efforts for a larger footprint have not been very successful and he has so far been confined only to Punjab and Delhi.

From leading the India Against Corruption movement to becoming chief minister of Delhi thrice in a row, Kejriwal has had a chequered career as a bureaucrat-turned-activist-turned-politician.

Ahead of the general elections this year, he joined the INDIA bloc of opposition parties, whose leaders he had earlier slammed over corruption issues. The AAP has three Lok Sabha MPs from Punjab and 10 Rajya Sabha MPs.

He was also under the scanner for adopting a "soft Hindutva" approach exemplified by his free pilgrimage scheme and chanting of "Jai Sri Ram" slogans in the Delhi Assembly. He once demanded that photos of Ganesha and Lakshmi be put on currency notes for the economic prosperity of the country.

Hailing from Haryana's Hisar, Kejriwal earned his engineering degree from IIT Kharagpur and became an Indian Revenue Services(IRS) officer.

After quitting the income tax officer's job in 2000, he worked in the field of Right to Information (RTI) Act and lived in the slums of Delhi, apparently to understand the problems faced by people living there. In 2011, he joined the anti-corruption movement initiated by Hazare.

Emerging from the anti-corruption movement, AAP was founded in the national capital by Kejriwal and his closest associates in 2012.

Kejriwal, who was challenged by politicians during his India Against Corruption days to take a plunge into active politics and taste realpolitik, managed to keep issues like health, education, water and electricity supply at the core of his politics and governance. His detractors slammed him for pursuing "freebies" politics.

The arrest of Kejriwal in a corruption case in March this year and his over five months behind bars is considered a huge taint for the man who held a 14-day fast in 2013 to put pressure on the then Sheila Dikshit government for action over "inflated" water and electricity bills.

The ‘muffler man' who makes it a point to dress like the “aam aadmi” with oversized shirts found himself in trouble over allegations of misusing government funds to renovate the chief minister’s official residence.

According to the chief secretary's report, around Rs 53 crore was spent on renovation of the CM's bungalow.

AAP insiders claim that by resigning from the post of chief minister, Kejriwal also intended to leave his official residence dubbed "Sheesh Mahal" by BJP leaders who have been relentless in attacking him.

Accusing the BJP of mudslinging, Kejriwal used the Ramayana to make his point in his speech on Sunday.

"When Lord Rama returned from his exile after 14 years, Sita Maiyya had to undergo ‘agni pariksha’. Now, I have come back from jail, and I am ready to undergo 'agni pariksha'."

Kejriwal has justified his decision to resign as chief minister saying he earned nothing in his life except "respect and honesty" and he joined politics to do something for the country rather than playing "game of money from power and power from money".

In the run-up to the 2015 Delhi Assembly polls, he constantly apologised for his actions during the 49-day tenure in 2013 and promised not to quit again.

Nine years later, that promise has clearly been forgotten. His decision to again quit the chief minister's post hints at the "adventurous and risk taking nature" of Kejriwal, said his party leaders.