Kejriwal: Love Him, Hate Him, But Difficult to Ignore Him

New Delhi: For the young and sections of the Indian middle class he is a "hero" who has "unmasked" corrupt politicians. But there are many who can't stand the Magsaysay award-winning activist-turned-politician's "methods" that have further vitiated the country's political discourse.

Politicians have reason to hate the 42-year-old Arvind Kejriwal. And he has spared no one.

Since the Oct 2 announcement about forming a political party, his organisation, called India Against Corruption (IAC), has made a splash in the political arena by levelling charges against Congress president Sonia Gandhhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra and Law Minister Salman Khurshid of illegal land deals and fund embezzlement.

But like a canny politician, he knows if he has to make a mark of "being different" he has to target parties left, right and centre.

The politician aspirant's googly came when he fired a salvo against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Nitin Gadkari, accusing him of grabbing farmers' land and corruption in collusion with the Nationalist Congress Party's tainted Ajit Pawar.

But this time his allegation seems to have fallen flat as it missed the target.

He got a taste of his own medicine when a former police officer-turned-activist accused Kejriwal of not naming NCP chief and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar when he highlighted irregularities by Gadkari.

Fingers have also been pointed at his three key aides - Prashant Bhushan, Anjali Damania and Mayank Gandhi - for questionable land deals, forcing the graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology to announce a "lokpal" of three retired judges to probe the charges against the three.

But the 24X7 media coverage of Kejriwal has ensured that he has become a household name.

This time he has been able to capture the imagination of youth, which he could not achieve when he was under the shadow of social activist Anna Hazare.