Congress in bind as Kejriwal powers ahead

NEW DELHI: The Congress appeared edgy on the day Arvind Kejriwal announced his readiness to form the government in Delhi amid growing realization that the decision meant to trap Aam Aadmi Party has opened the faultlines within and the decision may even boomerang.

Amid talk of revocation of support and with former chief minister Sheila Dikshit holding talks with MLAs, coupled with late evening protests at the party office, there were serious concerns that the party might come off as flippant.

The opposition to Kejriwal, barely days after the party decided to back him “to hold him to his promises to the people”, surprised senior leaders, who felt the newbie was succeeding in making the Congress appear jittery.

At the root of the confusion lies a miscalculation. The party did not expect Kejriwal to accept the offer of support, and had hoped to project his refusal as running away from responsibility because of the fear of failure in implementing poll promises. Kejriwal surprised them while the party did not have the option of reneging on the commitment.

With Kejriwal and his group threatening to implement the AAP agenda, the worry in Congress now is that the gambit to prop up the AAP government could be counter-productive. The party’s rout has been traced to AAP’s poaching of its constituents and there is concern that populist promises like cheaper power and water may intensify the desertion of poor from the party kitty.

The apprehension seems to have made Congress appear adrift in the evolving circumstances. Withdrawal of support is no option. “How can we pull the plug even before we plug in? It is a letter given to the lieutenant governor promising support to AAP. Congress cannot be reduced to a joke,” lamented a senior leader who was initially opposed to backing AAP.

The party reckons that AAP will come short in delivering its promises. “AAP has to fail for Congress to revive,” a party leader said, emphasizing that the party has to put up with Kejriwal in the immediate run for the sake of its own credibility.

“It requires some patience and equanimity in the face of coming challenges, like some difficult decisions that Kejriwal may take as chief minister to needle the Congress,” a party manager said.

It is feared that the “impatience” on display like opposing support to the new government will leave Congress stranded by making it appear churlish and opportunistic without any gains in return.

Irrespective of what happens, Congress is on the back foot. Even if it grudgingly agrees to back AAP, it is apprehensive of what might happen if the debutant succeeds. Its entire calculation has come to rest on the hope that Kejriwal will find it impossible to fulfil his promises on the land, power and water fronts.