The Day Aam Aadmi Had A Party: Arvind Kejriwal Takes Oaths, Hits All The Right Notes

NEW DELHI: Those who were there will always remember the sea of heads with white caps, tricolours fluttering in the winter wind and the sparkle of hope on every Aam Aadmi Party supporter's face at the packed Ramlila Maidan on Saturday. For them, it wasn't just a swearing-in ceremony; it was an open-air party of the common folk, a showtime for people's power.

And the speech that their leader Arvind Kejriwal, the new chief minister of Delhi, delivered after the swearing-in ceremony was no ordinary speech either. For him, this was a "tryst with destiny" moment. And he seemed to be speaking straight from the heart when he declared, "The politics of this country had destroyed everything but in these assembly elections the people have shown that honest politics is possible. Elections can be fought with honesty and won with honesty." The crowd, about 80,000 inside and outside the venue, cheered in approval.

Many of them had come from far and wide: Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and elsewhere. School teacher Nimma Jairam Reddy, 44, travelled for 28 hours from Medak district in Telangana. "In the past 60 years, the difference between the aam aadmi and the amir aadmi has grown. To end it, traditional politics must die and be replaced with moral and modern politics which Kejriwal represents," he said.

Kejriwal's speech was politically mature, and marked by clarity of thought. He spoke of announcing a phone number in two days – a complaint hotline to catch bribe-givers red-handed. He also assuaged fears of the honest bureaucrat. "Today many people tell me, Arvindji, stay alert, because bureaucracy would not let you succeed. I don't believe this. Over the past few days, I have met some Delhi bureaucrats. I have no hesitation in saying that if some people are corrupt, there are several who are highly upright and want to serve the nation," he said.

He also urged his partymen too to stay on the right path. "I request my party ministers, MLAs and workers to never be conceited and arrogant. Our struggle will go waste if our MLAs and ministers become arrogant. AAP was formed to overthrow the arrogant parties and I don't want another party to come up to put an end to our arrogance. Even when our volunteers go to mohallas and colonies, they should be humble since we are desh sewaks. We didn't come here to become chief ministers or ministers but to serve the country and we should never forget that we are sewaks."

The anti-graft activist also spoke about the crushing burden of raised expectations. "Sometimes I am very scared as people have pinned their hopes on us and I pray to God to give us courage and keep us on right track so that we don't commit any mistake."

Towards the end of his speech, Kejriwal urged the crowd to take an oath against bribes. Most joined him in this moment of public engagement in the process to bring about positive social change.

S Selvaraj was among those who did. He came from a village near the famous Kolli Malai hills in Tamil Nadu. It was a 72-hour journey first by bullock cart, followed by bus and train. "I like his concepts of humility and simplicity in politics. That's why I am here," he said. Others spoke of having taken leave from office, even left behind an ailing child, to be there because it was "an extraordinary day" for them.

This looked like a real crowd of party workers and common people; not the paid hordes who often arrive in truckloads at political gatherings. This was also a far more relaxed crowd than what had gathered during Anna Hazare's fast at the same venue in 2011.

A banner indicated the people's mood: Free hugs for Aam Aadmi, it said. No surprise, some supporters carried posters of the film, Nayak, where the hero becomes a chief minister for a day. But they had replaced Anil Kapoor's mug with Kejriwal's. It was evident he was their rock star.



Kejriwal, who had trounced Sheila Dixit in the polls, also took care to name gods of different religions while hailing the win as a miracle (kudrat ka karishma). He thanked "parampita parmeshwar, parmatma, ishwar, allah and wahe guru" for the triumph. Even while paying tribute to late colleague Santosh Koli, he said, "Hindu dharma says that while the body perishes, the soul is immortal. Today, if Santosh's soul can see us or hear us, it will be happy to know that her sacrifice did not go waste."

The gods seem to be smiling on Kejriwal, in any case. In a week when the national capital was often blanketed by grey, unsympathetic clouds, the sun shone brightly on Saturday. There couldn't have been a better day to attend a political gathering or play Test cricket.

Times View : A beautiful moment for our precious democracy

No one could have imagined at the beginning of 2013, or even six months ago, that Arvind Kejriwal would return to the Ramlila Maidan, two and a half years after Anna's big anti-corruption fast, to take oath as chief minister before the year was out. This has been a peaceful political revolution of epic proportions – and we, as a nation, should feel proud. Kejriwal may be the man of the moment, but this not about him – or any one person. This is about the idea of India. We have been called a flawed democracy, and indeed there are times when a sense of hopelessness takes over; but it's also the flaws that help us appreciate beauty when it shines through. There is no greater beauty on earth than to behold the will of the people be given voice without having to resort to violence. So let us pause for a moment to cherish the precious, and yes imperfect, beauty of our democracy.

For Kejriwal, the real challenge – of governance – begins now. He has changed the rules of the game, playing the role of an outsider with consummate political savvy. Whether his 'movement' can go national will depend on how wisely he runs Delhi. It will also depend on whether the Congress, having extended support, is willing to give him a fair chance. Its decision to boycott the swearing-in ceremony does not bode well for the future. The party that helped give us this beauty we call democracy should know that it has diminished itself by its churlishness. It should also know that a little grace never hurt, even in politics.