Arvind Kejriwal
Introduction
Arvind Kejriwal (born sixteen August 1968) is AN Indian Politician and a former functionary WHO is
that the current and seventh Chief Minister of urban center since Feb 2015. He was also the Chief
Minister of Delhi from December 2013 to February 2014, stepping down after 49 days of assuming
power. Currently, he is the national convener of the Aam Aadmi Party, which won the 2015 Delhi
Assembly elections with a historic majority, obtaining 67 out of 70 assembly seats. In 2006, Kejriwal
was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for nascent Leadership in recognition of his involvement
within the grassroots level movement Parivartan victimisation right to info legislation in a campaign
against corruption. The same year, once resigning from Government service, he given his Magsaysay
award cash as a corpus fund to found the general public Cause analysis Foundation, a non-
governmental organisation (NGO).
Before joining politics, Kejriwal had worked in the Indian Revenue Service as a Joint Commissioner of
Income Tax in New Delhi. Kejriwal is a graduate in Mechanical engineering from Indian Institute of
Technology (IIT) Kharagpur. In 2012, he launched the Aam Aadmi Party, that won within the 2013
urban center legislature election. Following the election, he took workplace because the Chief
Minister of urban center on twenty eight December 2013. He resigned forty nine days later, on
fourteen February 2014, stating he did thus due to his minority government's inability to pass his
planned anti-corruption legislation because of an absence of support from other political parties. On
14 February 2015, he was sworn in as Chief Minister for a second term after his party's victory in the
Delhi Legislative Assembly election.
Leadership Style
Democratic Leadership: It is easy to retreat into a shell and make politically correct gestures and
statements upon assuming power. However, that is a timid way to play the game. Kejriwal has time
and again made remarks that have caused his detractors to look the other way. He gets away with it
only because Kejriwal's reputation as a common man and honest citizen has remained untarnished.
It is, in a way, his biggest USP. To be a true leader, one must be open and honest at all times.
Strategic Leadership: For all the tall claims Kejriwal and his party were making, it would have been
impossible to fulfill any of them if they were not backed by a sound strategy. Effective leaders know
how to work behind the scenes so as to bring about positive change in front of their consumers.
Even the smallest of ideas needs a proper strategy to thrive.
Key Strength
Kejriwal has the right background to lead a diverse country like India. He is from a great institute
(IIT), he has a corporate background (Tata Steel), a background in government service (IRS) and also
has a background in Civil Society (where he won a Magsaysay Award).
He also spearheaded one of India's most popular people's movements (the anti-corruption one) and
is a former Chief Minister to boot. Kejriwal was also part of the RTI campaign.
Kejriwal has shown excellent organizational skills and has built both a people's movement and a
political party. It’s no joke to go national in such a short time. Party member and ex-Infosys CFO V
Balakrishnan did call it the fastest growing setup started by an ex-IITian.
Kejriwal has excellent media management skills too and that is quite important to make it big in
politics. He has remained in the limelight right from 2011 to 2014 non-stop. Kejriwal also has shown
the courage and conviction to take on all the national parties non-stop. Corruption is probably
India's biggest menace and he has rightly identified that and in turn is identified by that all across
India. He has managed to reach out to the middle class of India, which is gaining great political
power with every passing year. In the Delhi elections, he was able to branch out and appeal to other
classes too.
Lessons One can Learn
Effect big change with small steps: Arvind Kejriwal joined the political movement when he
supported the Lokpal Bill with Anna Hazare. Along with that, he wanted to root out corruption from
the establishment as well. All lofty goals sure but Kejriwal didn't let that affect him. He first focussed
on building a foundation with his Aam Aadmi Party and then trying to effect the changes he was
after.
Stay humble: Kejriwal's interview with Barkha Dutt after his party has slain the Congress votebase in
Delhi spoke volumes of his humbleness. Instead of making a show and dance about his victory over
Sheila Dixit and his party's amazing results, he answered questions about what needed to be done
and why he would be content even if his party sat in the Opposition. Humbleness is a trait that our
leaders have lost and that needs to be brought back in vogue.
Walk The Talk: Too many times, leaders talk about great things and leave it at that. Kejriwal has
taught us that it is equally important to fulfill your promises. The raised limit of water allocation to
Delhi residents is a case in point. The importance of leaders walking the talk cannot be overstated.
Nothing is Impossible: One of the biggest lessons we can learn from Kejriwal's success is that we are
only limited by our selfishness and fears. After all, Kejriwal himself is one of us who dared to take on
the entire establishment. The monumental task did not seem to have affected his integrity and
willpower in the slightest. Today, his party is busy chalking out its strategy for the national elections
scheduled later this year. A true leader always sees opportunity where everyone else sees failure.
Examples
Education: In its 2018-2019 Budget, the AAP government allocated Rs 13,997 crore, which is 26% of
the total Budget, for the education sector.
In 2017-18 Budget too, the education department share was a quarter of the total state's Budget.
Ever since its inception, the Delhi government has been focused on education.
Many efforts like Happiness Curriculum and construction of new classrooms in government schools
have received accolades globally.
"Outside the schools, there is an atmosphere in the country where people are doing politics of
temples and mosques. But the Delhi government is doing politics of building schools and education,"
deputy chief minister and education minister, Manish Sisodia, said at the inauguration of 11,000 new
classrooms in government schools on January 29.
Free Water &Cheap Power: Cheap electricity and free water to Delhi residents. Residents who use
less than 20 kilolitres of water a month, get it free while the power tariffs have also come down.
Kejriwal says he has managed this by reducing redtape by private discoms. In March 2018, Delhi
reduced power tariffs by up to 32%.
Health: A framed copy of a September 2018 letter by "The Elders"- a global organisation once
headed by Late Kofi Annan, former United Nations Secretary-General - praising AAP government's
Mohalla Clinics, hangs on one of the walls of the party's office at ITO.
The primary healthcare centres offering free consultations, tests and medicines also received praise
from Gro Harlem Bruntland, the former director general of World Health Organisation. Considered
to be one of the flagship schemes of the AAP government, 189 of the promised clinics have been set
up in Delhi.
