Kejriwal then and now: How 'Delhi's son' has grown over the years
When Arvind Kejriwal gave his speech at the Ramlila Maidan to mark the dawn of his third tenure in office in the national capital, authority and exuberance were glittering of his personality. Words were coming out of his mouth with weight and virtue. So much so that when he sued for peace with his political opponents, he was totally in control. This is a stark contrast to Kejriwal of back then. We dug out a video of Kejriwal's speech from the time when he was known more for his 'anshans' and less for his political grit and determination.
In the speech, Arvind Kejriwal is seen thanking God for showing him the way before he ended one of his 'anshans'. The video is dated 3rd August 2012, when Kejriwal had no political ambitions (or at least he did not say them out loud). This was the time when Kejriwal was fighting with Anna Hazare against corruption. This was the time when Congress' late Sheila Dixit was the Chief Minister of Delhi.
In the video, Kejriwal looks subdued and soft. While he was still fighting a battle for a good cause, he was nowhere near as confident or as exuberant as he was this morning (or at least it did not show in the video). Kejriwal, who looks considerably slim back then, was still an outsider to the system which he was knowingly or unknowingly going to change in the coming years.
The stark contrast between Kejriwal of then and now shows just how much Delhi's son has changed over the years. 8 years later, Kejriwal has been elected as the Delhi CM for the third year running and has been at the better end of an overwhelming verdict given by the Delhites in favour of Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party.
Now, watch the speech that Arvind Kejriwal gave from the stage of the Ramlila Maidan where he was sworn-in as Delhi's 7th Chief Minister. See for yourself, the difference in body language, confidence and the flow of words. It is safe to say, Kejriwal is now a 'Dilliwala'.
