It has been 10 years since Arvind Kejriwal took over Delhi’s baton in his hands and forget Development, Marketing and PR has taken the center stage in the Union Territory’s policies. Proportionate Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) expenditure of two of the most crucial sectors: Health, and Education, has gone down than the previous regime but the Advertisement Budget has touched glaring heights. Delhi is a small Union Territory with an odd 70 seats, spread across 573 square miles. India, on the larger picture, has 543 Parliamentary constituencies stretching over a gigantic 12 Lakh 70 Thousands miles. Despite the geographical disparity, Central government has allocated Rs. 1,090 Crores for ‘Public Outreach in Budget 2023-24. This will blow up your mind: Delhi government spent more than 50% of this amount in the name of “Advertisements” in 2021-22 alone! When people were dying of COVID-19, panting for essentials like Remdesivir, mourning all around, crisis of Oxygen Cylinders, and uncertainty throughout the globe, How can one man be so drowned in Self obsession that He spends Rs. 568 Crores just on Advertisements? Nation has seen leaders with RSS as the building bloc, Left leaders idolize communism, but the biggest ingredient in Kejriwal’s meteoric rise in Indian politics is his Image makeover through Advertisements. But this figure is just the tip of the iceberg. The fog of PR & Advertisements, hiding the 10 years of distress is as hazardous as that of Pollution.
Sheeshmahal: Mockery of Taxpayers Money
In 2013, Mr. Kejriwal in his sworn affidavit claimed that he won’t take any government bungalow or “Laal Batti” but today stands as the man who built probably the most opulent government house in India, popularly known as “Sheeshmahal”. It is height of Irony that the man who leads a party named “Aam Aadmi Party” renovated the CM House for his comfort with around Rs. 45 Crores budget. His onset into the national politics was fueled by the hallmark of a “Common Man politician”. But 10 years down the lane, he has turned out to be the complete contrast of what was portrayed. Delhi has been deceived by his Hawai Chappal drama, his muffler drama, his apologetic nasal voice, his oversized shirt, the loose sweater – all his attempts to look like a simple person. Time reveals the true face of people because he could never hide his utter contempt for all the people he could fool so easily! Voice Controlled TVs, Motorized Recliner Sofas, Body Massage Chairs, King-size Commercial Ovens, Coffee Machines, Decorative Pillars, Remote Controlled imported Toilet, and many other luxuries were installed at the expense of Tax Payer’s money. Kejriwal has indeed transformed Aam Aadmi’s life but the only beneficiary is him & the functionaries of his party. But the bigger trick he played while doing so was by cunningly splitting the gigantic bill into smaller ones, in order to escape the mandatory clearance required from the Lieutenant Governor’s office. Norms set for the Union Territory require prior approval of the Lieutenant Governor for any expenditure spending Rs. 10 Crores or above. So, the New Deceptive Boss played a trick by splitting up the amount into smaller ones of each amounting to less than Rs. 10 Crores. Even the politicians with brute power in absolute states hesitate to raid the public treasury with such degree, but a disgrace borne-out-of an alleged Civil Society movement shamelessly did a daylight robbery of Public treasury for the vulgar comfort of him & his family.
Such robust misuse of money meant for the welfare of the public was least covered in the national media. Barring a few daring channels who took the Image Chameleon’s PR Machinery heads on, many prominent channels hailed as the Legacy Media ensured that this is restricted just to News tickers at the bottom. Prime Time shows were held on the war trauma faced by some random Yusuf residing in the far-off Palestinian slums but none covered the flagrant robbery by an elected representative in broad daylight, right at the heart of Delhi. This is what the PR Muscle is!
Mr. Kejriwal led AAP Government has spent over ₹1500 crores on advertising since 2015. A majority of this has gone into the pockets of Media barons who now shy away from reporting any negative news against the Delhi government, as if re-paying the loyalty with quid-pro-quo. This mere spending has ensured that Mr. Kejriwal picks and chooses the news items to be published, and those to be rubbished off.
Education Model: Academics down, PR Hype Up
Another myth about the Mr. Kejriwal’s ruling has been a PR-hyped Education Model, proclaimed as the savior of education system in the UT. It is indeed a splendid example of PR-doctored narrative, but has made least impact on uplifting the performance of schooling. This was expected as the government’s focus relied majorly on image makeover through Media management, rather than doing the needful. Despite 10 years of publicity, more than 46 thousand children in eighth and 50 thousand students in 11th could not pass the annual examination in academic session 2023-24. Desperate for results, government seems to have adopted the strategy to fail the students in class 9th, so that the class 10th results don’t reflect the reality of education system under Mr. Kejriwal’s rule. AAP government segregates the children to their learning abilities into two groups: Pratibha (loosely translated as intelligent) and Nishtha (steadfast).This further demotivates the students and is highly discriminatory.
Such is the anti-incumbency on ground against the AAP government that Manish Siosdiya, No.2 in Kejriwal’s reign and education minister for majority of the term, has fled away from his traditional Patparganj constituency. In order to manipulate the passing data, Delhi government cleverly reroutes the students failing twice in class 9th and 11th to Open Schooling. Almost 20% of class 9th students drop out every year, 50% failed in 2019, and many of the remaining ones are transferred to NIOS. While the government’s job must is to promote inclusivity, and take responsibility of the marginalized students, prime focus of the Media-crafted Chief Marketer is to glorify his image as the messiah of Delhi’s Education revolution, nevertheless it comes at the cost of abandoning many student’s education entirely.
Incompetence of the government can be judged by an RTI data of 2021 which states that, two third of Delhi’s government schools didn’t offer Science stream in class 11-12. Delhi government school students are allocated board examination centers exclusively in government schools, fostering an environment where rampant cheating and malpractices thrive through mutual collusion. Anyways, What better education standards can you expect under the rule of a government whose top brass has been behind the bars on charges of Excise policy scam.
10 years of unfulfilled promises: Reality behind the PR Bubble
Very first page of the AAP’s 2015 manifesto lists a promise to end corruption from all departments, with the Jal Board getting a special mention. Ironically, the Marketing Maestro of Politics has something fishy here too. Loksabha poll ally of AAP, Congress has accused it of a whopping Rs 17,575 Crore alleged scam in the Delhi Jal Board (DJB). There has been a 16.28 % surge in the leakage of water over a span of three years, as per Delhi Jal Board official figures. DJB has made hefty provisions in the budget to fix it, which raises the eyebrows on possible wrongdoings.
Next in line is the infamous promise to battle the Water mafia, but it has only got stronger in the past 10 years. Delhites not getting adequate water supply, leading to acute water shortage, has been a burning issue throughout the AAP tenure.
Manifesto called VIP Culture “a legacy of British Raj”, and vowed to end it but Kejriwal has set new standards in it. Man who once gave written affidavit of not taking government facilities built a first of its kind Sheeshmahal, just to fulfill his luxurious desires.
Kejriwal boasted of cleaning the Yamuna River once he gets to power, but it has been 10 years and the condition has further deteriorated. Despite a decade of lofty promises and media spectacles, the ‘PR CM’ has turned the Yamuna into a symbol of unfulfilled commitments. The river now stands as a glaring testament to his governance being all hype and no action.
In a decade of Kejriwal’s rule, Delhi has witnessed a governance model where substance has been replaced by spectacle, and accountability has drowned in a sea of glossy advertisements. The self-proclaimed messiah of change has instead become the monarch of manipulation, building castles of deception on the foundation of taxpayers’ hard-earned money. From unfulfilled promises of a cleaner Yamuna to hollow claims of revolutionary education and health reforms, every sector has been wrapped in the glitzy packaging of PR campaigns while the ground realities rot. Kejriwal’s governance epitomizes the art of appearing busy while achieving little, prioritizing his self-image over genuine public service. The staggering Rs. 568 Crore spent on self-promotion during a pandemic isn’t just wasteful; it’s a moral travesty. Delhi doesn’t need a PR-man in the Chief Minister’s chair; it needs a leader who prioritizes action over optics, and governance over gimmicks.
Delhi stands at a crossroads, and this is a now-or-never moment to break free from the suffocating PR bubble orchestrated by Arvind Kejriwal. The dismissal of 16 sitting MLAs, and the defection of key ministers to the BJP signal the absence of trust in Kejriwal’s leadership. With credibility eroded and anti-incumbency looming large, Kejriwal’s desperate attempt to mask his failures through paid interviews with legacy media is a last-ditch effort to cling to power. Delhi must rise above the allure of freebies and demand accountability, comprehensive governance, and a vision that prioritizes progress over propaganda. The time to act is now—vote for a government that DELIVERS, not one that DECEIVES.
