Kiran Bedi Vs Arvind Kejriwal : Who will win the match

Sambhal News (Blog) :--

Has any election seen two candidates more suited to combat each other than Delhi Assembly?

From three decorous elections in which Sheila Aunty steamrolled her opposition into the broken pavements that litter this once-beautiful city, this election has invigorated the city, and not just because of Kiran Bedi's "positive energy".

Our Mumbai friends may scoff at the municipal nature of Delhi Assembly, but it's sure giving us a world class battle which is not between thugs who specialize in holding cities to ransom or making money from drought stricken villagers.

On the one side is a Magsaysay Award winning, former government official, once Anna Hazare's beloved aide. On the other side is, oh, a Magsaysay Award winning, former government official, once Anna Hazare's beloved aide.

Almost alike, down to the flight scandal (her dubious bills and his business class Dubai trip)? Not quite. And not only because two decades separate them. He's 46, she's 66.

Both are products of the Age of New Media, where blah is boss, but both have exploited the new avenues in different ways.

Kiran Bedi, former "Crane Bedi", erstwhile TV anchor of Aap ki Kachehri, is a sort of precursor to Aamir Khan's Satyamev Jayate, which appeared later on the same channel, brainchild of the same man (Uday Shankar).

Arvind Kejriwal, former RTI acitivist, permanent interviewee, master of the public spectacle, is a successor to RK Laxman's fictional common man, with the gift of bilingual gab.

And while Bedi is a good speaker, of the motivational kind who loves her six Ps and five Ss and her loopy cosmic comparisons (Modi is the Sun and we are small stars who revolve around Modi), she cannot compete with Kejriwal's mastery of communicating on social media.

So even as AAP detectives trawl her site for forensic evidence of her daring others to debate (from Sonia Gandhi versus Nitin Gadkari, to PA Sangma and Pranab Mukherjee, she has unfortunately left many breadcrumbs), Bedi insists she will debate only on the floor of the Assembly, because she is here to deliver, not debate.

Kejriwal, meanwhile, taunts her, demanding she unblock him, even as he walks with a circus of dancing, singing, shouting sloganeers, and still doesn't manage to reach his destination in time to file his nomination.

For Delhi, it's a difficult choice. Do they vote for a party led by Kejriwal, whose integrity is undoubted, but who let them down the last time, abandoning them after 49 days?

Or do they vote for a tough police officer, who has just joined a cadre based party that is not too keen to have her, who also abandoned the police force, seeking voluntary retirement, citing an old boys network that cost her promotion as Commissioner of Police?

Do they vote for the muffler man? Or the dupatta lady (can anyone forget her mocking politicians with a dupatta wrapped around her head?)

Hmm.

Actually, I think Delhi should be proud if either gets elected. Both have joined politics after serving in the government, having arrived there by dint of hard work and sheer talent. Both understood that India was angry with a public life soaked in corruption and enthused young people to fight for a just cause - not just the latest model of iPhone or extra pocket money. Both understand the transparency required in public life, where we hold former public servants like them to higher standards of accountability than fat cat politicians who have spent years building fiefs and lining their pockets.

And you know what I'd do if I were the Congress? Quickly find a candidate just like Bedi and Kejriwal. Pity about Vinod Rai. He would have been an ideal candidate, if only they hadn't vilified him so much for telling truth to power.