Delhi polls: Modi "suit" versus Kejriwal's "muffler" 

It is the big battle in Delhi between the BJP and the AAP, but in sartorial terms - as attire has become such a talking point since the US president's recently concluded visit - you can call it the war between the "suit" and the "muffler".

The Indian PM wearing the "Modi suit" - where his full name was repeatedly woven into the "pinstripes" - during Barack Obama's India visit has become such an international talking point that, whether or not he repeats the fashion crime again, it is likely to become part of his persona. Quite simply now, you can take Narendra Modi out of the Modi suit, but you can't take the Modi suit out of Narendra Modi.

While many have argued in the PM's defence that it is only a matter of personal taste, and Modi was only using the suit to build on his image, that is exactly the point that his detractors make against him - using your own name repeatedly on your suit reveals having a high opinion of yourself, it doesn't help that it has been donned before by other folks with controversial political legacies like Carlos Menem and Hosni Mubarak.

What makes it worse is that it was worn in the company of a US president who was on an unprecedented, first-ever visit to the country to honour our Republic Day function - the wearing of a suit by the Indian PM with his name repeatedly stitched into the fabric while in one-on-one talks telecast over the world revealed not just lack of mere taste, but also, an absence of gracious hospitality. Good hospitality is about putting the guest before oneself, and not showing off. As they say about the hostess, "A good hostess is one who you notice, a better hostess is one who notices you".

If Modi's fashion is now likely to be remembered by his suit, on the other hand, Arvind Kejriwal, leader of the AAP which is fighting the BJP government, at power at the Centre with an overwhelming victory since last year, is already known for his muffler, trending forever of social media as #Mufflerman, a hashtag used as much by supporters as detractors.

Supporters of both leaders have decried that too much attention is directed at the garments that have come under criticism, or are used to mock the respective leaders. However, it is difficult to say the leaders have not asked for the attention be drawn to them.

Both "the suit" and "the muffler" are outsiders in the system. Unlike a leader like the Congress' Ajay Maken, in his staid checked jackets, or even the BJP's newly minted CM candidate Kiran Bedi, with her desexualised, functional salwar kameez that compliment her public persona as an "efficient" cop, both the larger than life leaders of the AAP and the BJP are personalities who have no previous national recall in the public imagination.

So, it is difficult to tell if voters and press are scrutinising their clothes with more rigour in order to get an insight into their personalities, or if the leaders themselves are using their clothes to communicate their core values to voters and the press.

Certainly though, Arvind Kejriwal's muffler, his V-neck sweater, both usually in muted and dull colours, seem to signify an attempt to present himself as a man of the masses, the average office goer, or, when he wears his muffler over his head, the unassuming clerk at the front desk, all of which are said to comprise the AAP leader's core voter base in Delhi.

Modi, on the other hand, has been positioning himself as a global leader. He has consistently used his wardrobe to send out the message that while he is bound to his roots, with the half-sleeved Modi jacket and the khadi kurtas, he also uses colours like peach and pista green to show that he bows to global fashion trends.

And unlike the Congress icon Nehru, who used the Indian Nehru jacket and churidaar in a Western, minimalist way with a rose pinned to breast pocket, shorn of any religious referencing in the secular branding that he is identified with, Modi, who shows aspirations to wrestle his way into the league of the greats, often uses the colour saffron or orange symbolising Hinduism, as he did with the chic shawl which he wore to receive the US president when he landed at Delhi airport. However, on public functions, Prime Minister Modi is absolutely politically correct - both on Independence Day last year, a little after he gained office, and on Republic Day, his headgear strongly and visibly referenced the colours of the Indian flag - green, white and orange. His liking of foreign brand watches as accessory, on the other hand, are seen as a nod to his pro business stance.

A lot many people have used the argument that the global criticism of Modi's "Modi suit" are elitist snobbery at an outsider daring to display wealth, but this not a defence that stands up to scrutiny. Modi's expensive watches have not been criticised - it is not a matter of money, but of taste.

However, Modi's excess with the suit can be understood from his viewpoint - from Mayawati, whose abundant love of expensive handbags is seen as a defiance of the born elite who feel they are entitled to luxury, to even Moradabad businessman Robert Vadra who uses flashy cars and has been seen in public in pink pants with his subdued, "old money values" wife the more fashionably discreet Priyanka Gandhi, to the UK businessman Dodi Al Fayed who used flashy yachts and screaming labels to "fit-in" to the unforgivingly elite British society, Modi's self-monogrammed suit can also reveals his sensitivity to his "outsider" status.

The battle between the muffler and the suit, the AAP and the BJP, is also an attempt by two outsiders to lay claim to the city that is known for its "do you know who I am" snobbery and deference to elitism. But that the battle is on is also proof that the city itself is ready to be changed, and this by itself is a sign of change.