New Delhi : Faces painted with a ‘jhadu’ (broom), slogans of “Vande Maatram” reverberating in the air and tricolour flags fluttering – it was an electrifying atmosphere at the sprawling Ramlila Maidan here as tens of thousands of enthusiastic people gathered to witness Arvind Kejriwal take oath as Delhi chief minister Saturday.
No short of a patriotic movement, it was a sea of people that donned Gandhi caps with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and “main hoon aam aadmi’ (I am a common man) emblazoned on it.
As they hailed “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” (long live mother India), many others were seen holding banners and placards with messages like, “CM to PM” (from chief minister to prime minister) “Paanch Saal Nai Har Baar Kejriwal” (Not just for five years, Kejriwal forever), they went into a collective cheer when they saw Kejriwal,46, on the specially erected dais decorated with hundreds of flowers.
When Kejriwal – who took oath exactly a year after he resigned as Delhi’s chief minister Feb 14, 2014 came forward to take the oath, the entire crowd of over 100,000 people burst into loud cheers to welcome their leader that many described as a “common man’s leader”.
Though, people had started coming from early in the morning for the oath taking ceremony which was at noon, the streets around the venue were packed.
In fact, many were found standing on the rooftops and balconies of the adjoining buildings surrounding the venue, which has seen many political rallies.
As many could not see the income tax officer-turned-activist-turned-politician from a distance, they craned their necks to get a glance on 16 LED screens that dotted the four boundaries of the ground.
Men, women and children from far and wide came to see the Magsaysay awardee, who led his party to a thumping victory bagging 67 of the 70 assembly seats, take the oath of office and secrecy.
For many, it was “history in the making”.
Like businessman from Andhra Pradesh, Abdul Rehman, who had come all the way from Vijyawada to see the oath ceremony.
“Kejriwal is the only leader now and he should now shift his focus to Andhara Pradesh as well. There are many like me in the crowd who wanted to be part of this historic moment,” said Rehman, who landed in the national capital Saturday morning.
Agreed Muhammad Shafeeq Khan from Jammu and Kashmir.
Describing Kejriwal as a “national leader”, Khan said, “people would like to see him become the prime minister as well.”
School teacher Vipin Mittal, 34, whose passion knew no bounds, was happy that his one vote transformed the politics in Delhi.
He hoped that with Kejriwal coming to power, “a new era of clean politics” will begin in India.
His daughter, who turned one Saturday, was “witness to the transformation India is going through at this place (Ramlila Ground),” said Mittal, who felt happy that his daughter would cut a birthday cake with Kejriwal’s picture on it later in the evening.
While the euphoria was evident among the gathering, so was the upbeat spirit of Rizwan from Ajmeri Gate.
Though his wife who was still in the maternity ward with a two-day-old newborn, nothing stopped this new father from attending the ceremony with his sister who was equally beaming with passion for the new chief minister.
Describing him as “muffler man in winters and Kejrwial uncle in summers”, nine-year-old Aastha preferred coming to Ramlila Ground over playing at home on a Saturday morning.
“Kejriwal uncle will give us a corruption free India.”
There were many who stood out among the crushing crowd. There was an artist from Green Park in south Delhi sporting a five-feet tall hat, which. he said. weighed over a kg with messages in Kejriwal’s support.
Painter Ravi, who had been standing on the street outside the ground since morning, said he painted over a thousand faces with either the tricolour or the AAP symbol of jhadu free of cost.
Amid tight security, the swearing-in was also an occasion for many street vendors to make a killing.