Dilip Cherian
There is a distinct air of déjà vu ever since Aam Aadmi Party and its doughty chief Arvind Kejriwal rose phoenix-like from the ashes of defeat and stunned the nation with a landslide victory over mighty Modi and the BJP. It was certainly evident at the oath-taking ceremony at Ramlila Maidan, the very same venue where Kejriwal and his cohorts had first made history barely a year ago by forming a minority government that ran out of steam in 49 days.
For this, his second and hopefully longer innings in power, AAP invited the aam aadmis and aam aurats in the capital to witness their oath-taking ceremony taking place at a public ground instead of a government mansion as is usually the case. And they did not disappoint, even if Prime Minister Modi turned down an invite to attend the ceremony, saying he had a prior engagement in Maharashtra. Not that his absence was felt by the throngs who had their eyes set only on the new chief minister of Dilli and his merry band of netas. Kejriwal has promised to plunge into action immediately, and he will have to. A landslide victory, after all, brings an avalanche of expectations. It won’t be easy but Kejriwal version 2.0 seems he is one who is up to the challenge.
Too much talk?
In the din of weddings and election results, at least two significant conferences did not receive the sort of attention they would have normally got. After all, it’s not often that the entire diplomatic corps gathers under one roof. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Dilli’s envoys to over 160 countries to lecture them on his foreign policy priorities. To aid him was new foreign secretary S. Jaishankar, handpicked by Modi and brought in barely days before the meet. While external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, finance minister Arun Jaitley, home minister Rajnath Singh and minister of state (independent charge) Nirmala Sitharaman too addressed the high commissioners and ambassadors, the focus typically was on Modi.
Modi however was somewhat less in focus at the two-day 46th Governors’ Conference presided over by President Pranab Mukherjee. Much of Mukherjee’s remarks during his inauguration speech were the routine stuff, about exhorting the assembled Governors and Lt Governors to uphold the principles of the Constitution. But the not-so-veiled reference to maintaining communal harmony was seen by some as a direct public snub to Modi, who was also attending, and couldn’t have been too pleased with the President playing partisan, as some have suggested.
Easing the blow
Dilli’s chill compounded by the wipeout in the assembly elections made it a sombre affair. The wedding of BJP president Amit Shah’s son happened on the day the election results were announced. What was planned as a grand celebration quickly became a subdued affair. In fact, many BJP leaders in Dilli were probably grateful that the wedding, which happened in Ahmedabad, provided a good excuse to skip town and be somewhere else. Others who were not on the guest list were probably wishing they were! The reception in Dilli, one of many, will be a slightly cheerier affair but obviously still miles away from the celebratory occasion that Modi, Shah or other worthies would have wished for. The drubbing at the hands of Kejriwal will smart for a long time. The pall will linger, though a family celebration surely helps ease the sorrow of loss, for some time at least.
High expectations
After the carnage, the reality check. The BJP clearly needs to quickly marginalise the Dilli election rout, but it may still have one ace up its sleeve: the Union Budget. That may be Modi sarkar’s one good chance to bring the derailed development narrative back on track. Finance minister Arun Jaitley lost little time to assure investors and economy watchers that the poll debacle will in no way delay the reforms programme.
The stakes are high but the environment is also right. The budget will be presented at a time of renewed optimism and positive sentiment. Moreover, the government’s majority in the Lok Sabha means that it can take strong measures without fearing opposition to its policies. But while investors have waited patiently for nine months since the Modi sarkar took over for a decisive roadmap, they may lose enthusiasm if the Budget that Jaitley will present in Parliament is below their expectations.
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