(Image source from: Who is the real Arvind Kejriwal — bechara)

With less than 100 days left for the country to go to polls, it's about time you know more about the leaders battling to shape up the country's future. And who better than Mr. Arvind Kejriwal to begin with. Call him 'bechara', 'anarchist' or 'visionary', the truth is that the country has got very little time to figure out the Aam Aadmi Party chief.

A few months into politics and a few days in the CM’s seat are not enough to shape up one's mind about their leader, especially if the person in question is a “bundle of contradictions”.

It takes a decisive time and relation between a politician and voters to help gauge the real leader.

Narendra Modi, for instance, has been around as chief minister for a decade now and everybody has a decisive opinion of him. Another opponent, Rahul Gandhi, too has been in the center of things for almost the same period of time, and people too have a decisive opinion about the Gandhi scion.

But Kejriwal has been around for just a year now. His case is almost like a painting that has an outline and several dabs of color, but the big picture is yet to be there. If only we could tilt the hour glass and fetched few more years to know the real Kejriwal.

It could be that Kejriwal is deliberately straddling several personas by choice, since he knows he is crunched for time, and he is investing in many roles hoping that one of them might yield rich dividends for him and his party. It could also be that due to his inexperience and pressure, the man is being pulled in different directions.  Based on the evidence so far, Kejriwal could be all or any of these three: a crusading anarchist, a wronged bechara and a probationary visionary. Let us look at the three shades of Kejriwal and their future prospects.

The 'Bechara':

This is the Kejriwal we see on a day-to-day basis. Humble, unpretentious, dressed like a clerk, calling himself ‘daba, kuchla’ (repressed, trampled), addressing everybody reverentially as ‘sir’ and beginning each of his argument with ‘hum to ji’. Though many attribute his success to his performance, some credit goes to his humble aam aadmi persona. The common man identifies with him and that is his strength.

The Crusading Anarchist:

We have seen this Kejriwal many times. He cockily calls everyone corrupt, slanders his opponents, readily jumps into streetfight, always ready for a dharna and believes in unorthodox tools like spycams, stings and public singing to unmask the corrupt. The media loves to slam him. The opposition seethes with rage at the sight of him. Critics view him as a bottled Naxalite. Even some of his die-hard fans censure his Shri Kejriwal avatar. But then, there are many zealous Indians who find in him the crusader, the vigilante, raging a war against the system. His fanatics have a lot of pent-up anger against the system and like him, believe that only the streetfighter can set things right.

The Probationary Visionary:

This Kejriwal is a thought. He was elected at a time when Indians longed for a country against corruption, a place where CMs and PMs would lead simple life as humble servants, of a country where there would be better schools, free water and electricity and Janata Darbars for everyone. Kejriwal, on occasions, has succeeded, at times failed. But he has never stopped trying. He has kept a few promises, gave away helplines, cleared Jan Lokpal Bill,  started and abandoned Janata Darbars and shunned the VIP-neta tag. That he is on the right track is clear from the fact that even many opposition leaders are imitating him. Kejriwal is still trying, and the more he fulfills, the greater would be his acceptability.

AW:Suchorita Choudhury