A party for the Aam Admi?

MUMBAI: In the beginning, it looked like Arvind Kejriwal was just a feisty activist who was basking in the shadow of Anna Hazare. But he parted ways with Anna, formed a political party, and shook the country by embarking on a series of exposes against the so-called holy cows of India: Robert Vadra, Rahul Gandhi, Reliance, among others.

Just when it looked like his hit-and-run tactics were losing steam, he has come up with a master-stroke, naming his party the Aam Aadmi Party. It reeks of cheekiness, no doubt, but it also shows how street-smart he is: in the last two Parliamentary elections, the Congress has come to power by talking about the aam aadmi. He has stolen its thunder by the simple act of giving his party a name.

Now, each time the Congress walks down that path, it is only going to help Kejriwal; ironically, if it doesn't talk about the aam aadmi, it wouldn't have its most powerful plank and might even end up being a damp squib.

Of course, the AAP has to do much more than scoring these brownie points to emerge into a viable party, if not option. It will be interesting to see his next move.