Apropos your cover story Man of the Masses (Feb 23), all this while it had seemed that the Modi magic was invincible. The BJP’s ignominious defeat in the Delhi assembly election thus should come as a much-needed wake-up call. The party’s precipitate choice of a political lightweight as chief ministerial candidate; Modi’s personal attacks on Kejriwal that sought to stigmatise him as a Naxalite; the shifting of minority votes towards AAP, especially in the light of the vilification campaign against Muslims by leaders like Yogi Adityanath and Niranjan Jyoti...all led to the BJP’s rout. However, given the vast mandate and the lessons from last time, Kejriwal too must be a worried man. People’s patience could run thin soon enough if their bijli-paani expectations are not fulfilled within a reasonable time-frame. And a defeated BJP will not allow itself to be coopted that easily by AAP to deliver on its major election promises. Indeed, Subramanian Swamy has already indicated that granting Delhi full statehood is not on the Centre’s list of priorities at all.
K.R. Narasimhan, Chennai
AAP’s sweeping victory is just a flash in the pan. Kejriwal will have to come down sooner than later from the cloud nine he is on and face angry Delhiites for the unrealistic promises he has made but will be plainly unable to implement.
Rama Krishna M., Kakinada
Rather than question AAP’s credibility, can we strengthen their hand somehow?
Praveen Thimmaiah, Bangalore
Your correspondent seems intolerant of anyone who acts in a way different than what she believes is right. She should know that countries which have People and Democratic in their country’s official name are actually authoritarian dictatorships.
Abhishek Prakash, Jaipur
‘No government ever has a paucity of funds.’ Kejriwal is right. India is monetarily sovereign, which means it can create any amount of rupees for free. It is called fiscal deficit to fool the sheeple.
Parthasarathy Shakkotai, Long Beach, US
The BJP will be committing a blunder if it does not accept that the main culprit for its colossal loss is the leadership. Middle-rung leaders have been criticising the way Amit Shah has run party affairs ever since he took over last July.
J. Akshobhya, Mysore
In its exuberance, AAP has promised a lot but it just does not have the wherewithal to implement much of it.
M.M. Gurbaxani, Bangalore
Most of AAP’s promises are not feasible, but they’ll get away with it just like other parties before them. What I am worried about is the Bengalisation of Delhi under a leftist AAP.
Gandhar, New Jersey, US
