People skip college, work to see 'aam' leader

Saturday was not just another day in their lives. Some had applied for leave well in advance, while for a few others, a day’s income was nothing compared to what they would witness at Ramlila Maidan.

Parents did not mind their college-going wards skipping class either. On Saturday, people arrived in scores from across and outside the city to see the “aam” (common) leader take oath as chief minister of Delhi.

One could gauge the public's mood even before reaching the ground. A festival-like atmosphere gripped the New Delhi Metro station, with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supporters shouting slogans and waving placards saying “AAP jaisa koi nahi”.

Party volunteers donning caps and yellow scarves queued up outside the metro station to welcome the crowd. With people set to arrive in large numbers via Delhi Metro, this was also a part of the party's strategy to manage “hooliganism” in case such situations arose, said volunteers.

“At least 15 volunteers have been posted outside each exit for crowd management,” said a volunteer identifying herself as Ambika.

For those unacquainted with Ramlila Maidan's location, one just needed to follow the crowd’s trail.

“It is not every day that your chief minister invites you to come and see him take oath at Ramlila Maidan. I lost a day’s pay to attend the event. But I really do not care. I also dragged along my neighbours to see Arvind Kejriwal,” said Kisan, a resident of Mundka.
Outside the ground, it was a fair of sorts, with youngsters playing guitar in praise of the party, artists drawing AAP tattoos for free, men posing before TV cameras displaying a collection of brooms and children sitting on a camel brought by a group as part of the celebrations.

One Srinivasan had been outside the grounds since 6 am, dressed like Mahatma Gandhi. The 54-year-old civil engineer from Kuwait said: “I am following the path of 'ahimsa' and so am dressed like Gandhiji. There is a huge AAP support base in West Asia supporting the movement. I wanted to witness this historic moment.”

Kejriwal’s speech managed to draw response each time he paused. The crowd applauded as he spoke of “corruption-free” days ahead, and how citizens could contribute to it.

The elderly were moved by Kejriwal’s repeated reminders to party workers to remain rooted to humility. “Kejriwal will manage to fulfil all his promises by remaining grounded. I have faith that he will eliminate corruption. But I hope he does something for senior citizens, whose pensions have been stuck for years now,” said 80-year-old N C Sharma, who had come from Dilshad Garden. People who had come to the ground for Kejriwal’s 2013 swearing-in said there was a “marked change” in the leader. “He is still a common man. But today’s speech showed he is more focused. He is here to stay,” said Seemapuri-resident Zahida Begum.

UP resident Dinesh (22), who living here, had transferred his voter identification card to a Delhi address only to vote for Kejriwal. “I came in touch with the AAP through the party’s WhatsApp groups. I was so moved by their ideology that I did not want to miss voting for Kejriwal. He is a mass leader,” said the student who had skipped college to see the swearing-in.