Is Arvind Kejriwal copying BJP?

Of late, the Aam Aadmi Party leader has become much of a darling for the media. Apparently he has come up with a number of innovative campaigning tactics. However, once you scratch beneath the surface, you realize that the Aam Aadmi Party hasn’t exactly started anything innovative but seems to be learning some old tricks from the experienced ones, the BJP in particular.

Here’s a list of issues and tactics generally being peddled as AAP’s trademarks but were in fact taken up first by the BJP first:

1.      Bijli Andolan: In 2003, Vijay Goel, when he was a Minister in the NDA, was the first one to tell off the Sheila Dikshit Government to stop complaining about power outages. In 2010, the BJP again started an agitation against Sheila Dikshit for hike in electricity prices. The same issues were taken up by Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal in 2013. Unfortunately, the people of Delhi have conveniently bought the lie that the BJP hasn’t done anything on the issue of electricity, which is a complete lie peddled by the Aam Aadmi Party. (Reference)

Bijli Marathon organized by Vijay Goel (Lok Abhiyan) in protest of fast running power meters: Date- Sept12, 2005

               (Bijli Rally – The biggest Bijli Andolan ever to happen in Delhi: Date – 12 Aug, 2013)

2.      Manifesto Campaign: As early as 2008, when the BJP was forming the committee to develop the manifesto for the city, Delhi’ites were encouraged to give their suggestions to the BJP office at the time. Now that the times have changed, internet is being used to take suggestions from the people. What the AAP is wishing for is already a reality in case of the BJP. (Reference)

3.      Campaigning during morning walks: Once again, it was Vijay Goel who back in 2009 made an effort to engage with voters in person during morning walks. Quoting a newspaper article published in Times of India. (Reference)  

“BJP's candidate from New Delhi is trying to jog his way to the voters' hearts. Vijay Goel a former Union minister during the NDA rule and now the party choice against Ajay Maken of the Congress has adopted a new way of campaigning. To get an opportunity to interact with the elite electorate and area residents who take early morning walks, Goel is regularly going jogging in the parks of the New Delhi constituency.”

4.      Janata Adalats: It was the BJP’s Vijay Goel who started holding Jan Adalats in his Chandni Chownk Constituency. The same concept was the inspiration behind Aam Aadmi Party’s Mohalla Sabhas. The Jan Adalats are still held by the BJP all over the city. (Reference)

5.      Electoral Issues: Vijay Goel raised the VAT issue in support of traders back in the year 2005. To this date, the BJP keeps putting forth VAT concerns by raising the issue in public, time and again. Now Kejriwal has also spoken about it.  (Reference) He has said he will demand a fair deal for vendors and hawkers but the same has been raised by the BJP for a long time now. (Reference)

AAP’s ‘Call Delhi’ campaign too is copied from the much popular Obama campaign (Reference). Though there may be couple of things that have been tried with certain modifications, it will be naive to believe the campaign is highly innovative and something that has never done before.

The problem is that since certain Aam Aadmis have recently entered into political arena, they think whatever they do hasn’t been tried ever in the history of Indian Politics. I will rather ask them to study about election campaigns in details. If they are so bent on claiming to execute a creative campaign, didn’t they notice that AAP’s banal android app is a mindless copy of Modi’s mobile application, or AAP caps being copied from those worn in RSS since its inception? Did no party ever use public transport for election campaigning? It’s time people come out of delusions and embrace the facts.