Arvind Kejriwal a changed man since 2013 polls

Arvind Kejriwal, who was sworn in as Delhi's chief minister at Ramlila Maidan, seemed a far wiser man than the one who had taken oath on December 28, 2013. On the face of it, the situation seems like a déjà vu —the historic grounds, the supporters numbering over a lakh, the promises of water, electricity and the Jan Lokpal Bill, Kejriwal singing his favourite song from the movie Paigham.

Kejriwal seems to be a changed man if his speech is anything to go by.

Arvind Kejriwal is a man who has learnt his lessons and sharpened his political acumen. The most obvious sign how less confrontational he has been, in his campaign and in his speech. Instead of denouncing his political opponents, he operated with nuance. Though, with these numbers he could have afforded to leave everyone else by the wayside, Kejriwal made it a point to ask Kiran Bedi, his direct challenger, and Ajay Maken for guidance in the future. "We want to work with good people," he said, "whatever political parties they are from." Unlike last year, when with only 28 seats he had initially, defiantly even, refused any Congress support.

It was an unsaid challenge for the Modi government at the Centre to be cooperative with Delhi. Kejriwal said that he hoped for "a constructive cooperation". He reminded the BJP of their long-standing promise of statehood couching, calling this a "golden opportunity" which they could not hope to miss. "I am ready," he said "and I hope the PM will also think about it." He also subtly reminded the Centre that it couldn't afford to anger Delhi's people anymore, after BJP's "arrogant behaviour" had caused them to be routed.

Gone was the high-handedness and the refusal to admit mistakes. Most importantly, gone were the promises of supplying free water or slashing electricity rates in a matter of days or passing the Jan Lokpal Bill in 15 days.

Kejriwal learned the hard way to not set public expectations too high. This time around, he was careful to set no tangible deadline for himself and his government. Now, Kejriwal issued disclaimers that he cannot promise that he will remove corruption 100 per cent but he hopes that in five years Delhi will be corruption free. The Jan Lokpal Bill will be passed as soon as possible and the public will be kept informed of subsequent decisions. "Paanch saal Kejriwal" is a promise to work for the city and also a way to buy adequate time for the Aam Admi Party's ambitious manifesto. He even made appeals to the media to not set hourly deadlines on his work, or criticise him for taking a car and a government house. "If I don't have proper space how will I meet all the people and if I don't have a car how will I get to work?" Kejriwal said the present reporters while the crowd laughed.

Kejriwal's biggest political masterstroke might have been apologising for his mistakes. Though he still sees his decision to quit government after 49 days in 2014 as morally right, he has admitted throughout his campaign that he let the people of Delhi down. It was a mistake, not a crime and for that he was sorry. Today, he went one step further and admitted that trying to take AAP to a national level was also an error on his part. "Maybe, we became a little arrogant when we thought we could fight the Lok Sabha Elections," he said. "Arrogance destroys everything." Apologies have won him much love from the public, who have rewarded this show of humility by forgiving past sins. As if pre-empting any fears to wear his priorities lay, Kejriwal publicly swore to work only for Delhi for five full years, to roars of approval.