By choosing Kiran Bedi as BJP Delhi CM candidate, Modi knocked the wind out of Kejriwal

Entering the fray at the last minute, Kiran Bedi was introduced as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's trump card to win Delhi elections. Has she proved the game-changer given her spirited campaign pitch? And can she pull it off to make Delhi politics in sync with Modi's overall vision for India?

The surprise element that catapulted Bedi as the BJP's mascot will go down as one of the most unconventional political gambles India has ever seen. Bedi's entry has made a difference to the BJP campaign by making it more interesting and unpredictable. The Bedi effect on the BJP prospect is still a matter of speculation. There are many who believe that she has lifted the BJP campaign. She has brought in a lot of pep and mirth into the campaign. Her untested mass appeal has no doubt unnerved Kejriwal and the Congress alike. She has a Teflon image and a social service record. There is not much to say against her. And this has put her adversaries in a quandary. Has she been able to integrate with the party cadre or will the additional support that she brings compensate for the heartburn that might have been caused in the traditional segment are matters for counting day. But for those gasping for change, she fits the bill. 

Narendra Modi is known to enjoy tough battles. He seldom looks for soft options. For instance, in Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand and Maharashtra, he chose to take his party to victory without going for patch work alliances. It is this unquestioned mass appeal that he has put to test in Delhi as well. By always injecting unforeseen and surprise catalysts Modi is redefining and refashioning polity. Modi has deprived the AAP its comfort zone of asking if "he will become Delhi's chief ministerial candidate." AAP leader Kumar Vishwas even suggested that Modi is good for Prime Minister but Kejriwal is good for Delhi. Obliquely the AAP has been trying to cash in on Narendra Modi's mass appeal.

Modi's emergence at the Centre has altered the political format. He has compelled his adversaries to respond to his novel formulations. While the opponents have failed to seize the changed political milieu, the AAP has found itself denied of its pet themes. Corruption for sure is no longer the big agenda. Lokpal Bill is no longer a campaign issue for AAP though Kejriwal claimed that he demitted office after 49 days as chief minister to redeem that pledge. Price rise was the other issue upper most in the last elections. Now prices are under control. The supply of water and electricity has improved and the rates have come down. These have stolen the thunder of the AAP campaign. What finally stymied the AAP aggression was that the BJP was not projecting its chief ministerial candidate. The projection of Bedi has taken the wind out of that propaganda.

Bedi has a proven track record unlike Kejriwal. She is perceived as honest, efficient and no nonsense. Kejriwal would say that her joining the BJP was opportunistic. But Bedi has always had a soft corner for the BJP. On many occasions earlier it was rumoured that Bedi would fight elections on a BJP ticket.

Her first exposure on a BJP platform was during the last Assembly election for Delhi. The programme was organised by the BJP Intellectual Cell to drum up support for a clean government in Delhi. Bedi along with former bureaucrat Shakti Sinha and others addressed the meet on November 15, 2013. Here, she for the first time, expounded her six point agenda for good governance. She also expressed her disapproval of Kejriwal brand.

Kiran Bedi has galvanised the BJP campaign. She will attract the marginal voter not enamoured of politics. The Anna movement was a revolt against the elitist ways of the political class. Narendra Modi with his common man image fitted into this yearning for change. His politics is innovative, his style unpredictable and his approach anti-politician. That is how he addressed the aspiring Indian middle class. By making Kiran Bedi the face of BJP, Modi has tried to neutralize the average Delhi voter's cynicism about the traditional politician.