For the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP),the final chapter of the Mahabharata is less than three months away. If the Pandavas fought the Kauravas for Hastinapur,the battle in 2013 is for Delhi. The stage is the Assembly elections to be held in November. While the dramatis personae slowly takes shape,the party on Sunday found itself a Bheem in Praveen Kumar. This Bheem,however,has experience. Twenty-five years ago,he essayed the role in the dramatised version of the epic which ran on Doordarshan for 12 years,going on to be one of the most watched shows in India. And on Sunday,as he formally joined the party,he was cast in the same mould. At the public meeting held in Sonia Vihar,where Kumar was inducted into the party,nearly every single speech had references to the Mahabharata. When Kumar,with Arvind Kejriwal at his side,made his entrance through a crowd of close to a thousand people,the stage announcer shouted,Dekhiye,apke samne aa gaye is yug ke Arjun aur Bheem. (Presenting to you the modern-era Arjun (Arvind Kejriwal) and Bheem. Kumar did not shy away from references to the television production in his interactions with the media. It is a role that I have a great fondness for. It gave me fame. If the Mahabharata taught me anything,it was that leaders must serve their people. This is what the Aam Aadmi Party stands for,and which is why I have joined it, Kumar said. Sanjay Singh,a party leader who was also a face of the India Against Corruption campaign said,If we are the Pandavas,the Kauravas are both the Congress and the BJP. They are both corrupt and greedy and,like in the Mahabharata,when the final battle comes to pass,we will emerge victorious. How can we lose? We have both Arjun and Bheem on our side. Singh was introduced with reference to another Mahabharata figure. In the epic,Sanjay was the advisor to Dhritarashtra. He could see the future,and predicted the victory of the Pandavas. Now,he too,is on our side. And what is he predicting? he asked. Aam Aadmi Party amar rahe, the crowd answered. Sources in the party said while Kumar had only formally been inducted on Sunday,he was being considered as the partys candidate for the Wazirpur constituency. He has filed an application with the party for the candidates post. It is likely that he will be declared the candidate,as he lives in the area,and has clean credentials, a member said.
