Name? Arvind Kejriwal
Westphalian identity? Indian
Age? 51
Why is he in the news? Wins big in the New Delhi State elections for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). (60 of 70 seats)
Why do we care? India is a crucial part of global 21st-century relations, and the world needs it to do well and be influential. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for all his bravado, is not helping this cause. He is taking the country to a place that it will not easily recover from, especially when it comes to global standing. Zoya Hasan who summarised: “The Delhi result is extremely important because it signals a defeat of the politics of polarisation and division that BJP unleashed here”. Any sign for a reversal of India’s recent (mis)fortune is incredibly welcome and important.
Why should you care? It depends really. Do you have children or want to have children in the future? In that case, you better hope that India becomes a powerful voice for responsible and sustainable global policymaking. Otherwise, your offspring’s international environment will be substantially worse.
Who else cares? Hopefully, some of the 1.3billion Indians who might subscribe to our newsletter after us bigging-up their country. Oh, and a shoutout to Ishwari for helping us out.
Any further comments? Modi has been losing quite a few state elections in India and this might mean a backlash to his divisiveness is brewing.
