Is Delhi up for grabs again?

I was deeply disappointed at a very posh Delhi party this week. Poochho kyon? I was expecting to meet at least one or two disgraced Aam Aadmi Party netas. Heading my wish list was Jitender Singh Tomar, ex- law minister who, it now turns out, had never set foot inside the college he claimed to have attended for three years. The other bloke, also a disgraced ex-law minister, accused by his wife Lipika Mitra, of domestic violence, was away in Kerala, while she was busy filing a complaint against the man with the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW). What’s with Arvind Kejriwal and his choice of law ministers? Errr... his choice of ministers? Period. Let’s shorten that still further — what’s wrong with Mr Kejriwal??

I was clearly at the wrong party that night. There wasn’t a muffler in sight. And most of the VVIPs pampering the host were erudite, urbane, well-educated politicians, behaving exceedingly well for the most part. Yes, they knew they were coming to a sit-down dinner, for which the host’s most gracious family must have slaved for months to get the seating right. The names of invitees were prominently displayed on a large chart, with assigned tables clearly marked. The 10-course banquet was equally carefully orchestrated to accommodate the varied tastes of handpicked guests. Even so, I was surprised to see nearly 30 per cent of the guests walk in, wish the host, and walk out! Huh? What was that all about? What sort of mehmaans behaved as inconsiderately? An old Dilliwalla laughed when I asked whether this was the standard social conduct in the Capital. “Yes. It is typical Delhi behaviour,” he said. “As the evening gets underway, and if there are scheduled speeches, you will see some more people leaving, right after their own speech and mid-way through someone else’s speech.” Charming! It happens in Mumbai, too. But that’s when a host is rash enough to invite a few bratty Bollywood stars. The older stars invariably display enormous tameez and grace. But the conduct at this function was something else. Most of the very busy, very high profile politicians present, insisted they had to leave to catch flights or attend another event. Simple question: Didn’t they know that before accepting this invitation?

Nobody that evening was particularly bothered by the ludicrous behaviour of Mr Kejriwal and the AAP gang. It was as if we were talking about delinquent children who needed to be instantly spanked and sent to a strict remand home, once they were done playing “government-government”. It’s fine right now to adopt such a stand and wait for the AAP to self-destruct. But what about the aam Dilli person who voted this lot into power? Talking to a voluble, opinionated staff member of the hotel we were staying in, it was obvious from the young lady’s highly critical remarks, that she spoke on behalf of the young majority in Delhi. “I voted for Arvind Kejriwal’s party... I believed in him. Like me, most of my friends voted for the AAP, and we were thrilled when these people won. We expected Delhi to change for the better. But nothing has happened! Nobody works. Things have deteriorated badly.” I asked her what had gone wrong and she answered without missing a beat, “Arvind is not satisfied being the chief minister of Delhi. He wants to become the Prime Minister of India! Delhi is timepass for him.”
Oh dear. India needs to be afraid. India needs to be very afraid!

I shamelessly eavesdropped a loud and animated conversation taking place at the table next to ours, during a lavish buffet in a swanky hotel. Two men were eating enough for 20. One man was silent and entirely focused on stuffing his face. The other was hogging and talking — yes — at the same time, his cheeks puffed out with rich food. The talkative fellow was a retired cop. He was also the one footing the bill. I guess he must have done well as a cop, as he mentioned two sons studying abroad, and the meal was far from cheap. The conversation was conducted in robust Haryanvi (suddenly made chic, thanks to Kangana Ranaut’s “Datto” turn in Tanu Weds Manu Returns).

The ex-cop said nothing was happening in Delhi. He went on to give a few colourful gaalis to Mr Kejriwal. Previous administrations, he said, understood ground realities far better. Things worked. With Mr Kejriwal, Delhi is on the verge of collapsing. The other chap sensibly stuck to food and had three more helpings of dessert. The ex-cop was angry that he had forced his own family to vote for the AAP. “Satyanaash!” he declared, belched and strode out with his mute friend in tow.

It’s a pretty grim scenario in the capital right now. Nobody knows what to do with Mr Kejriwal and the AAP. The few sympathisers he started off with, have promptly fled. People are asking whether the man has lost the plot completely and turned into one more megalomaniac, drunk on his own self-righteousness and delusions of absolute power. Most of his brainy teammates have bailed out long ago. He’s left with a rag-tag bunch of liars and cheats, wife-abusers and fraudsters. The way things are going, Delhi may just have to gear up for another round of going to the polls.

At the VVIP banquet the same night, I noticed quite a few political bigwigs ( from the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress) rubbing their hands and licking their chops in anticipation. Guess what, folks? It certainly looks like Delhi is up for grabs once again!

Readers can send feedback to www.shobhaade.blogspot.com