For many of his supporters, Arvind Kejriwal is a real life hero but some of them took hero-worshipping to a quirky level.
On Saturday when Kejriwal took oath as Delhi's seventh chief minister at the Ramlila Maidan, edited posters of popular movies, wherein the lead actors' face had been replaced with Kejriwal's, were seen around the sprawling ground.
Most popular choice seemed to be the movie 'Nayak' starring Anil Kapoor, which has an uncanny resemblance with Kejriwals' journey.
The movie shows Kapoor, a common man, becoming a chief minister and taking on corrupt political bigwigs and in turn cleaning up the system. The other films were 'Krish' and even 'Superman'.
'Business is good'
Hari Narayan, 34 reached the Ramlila Maidan early, not to witness Arvind Kejriwal taking oath as the city's chief minister but to earn a quick buck.
A car mechanic by profession, Narayan along with many others like him were seen strolling outside the ground armed with small bottles of saffron, white and green, the colours of the Indian flag, a paint brush and white caps which had messages of the Aam Aadmi Party printed on both sides.
The cap was priced at Rs 10 per piece while one had to shell out Rs 5 for a tri-colour to be painted on one cheek. "Business is good," a happy Narayan told IANS.
Sea of caps
As one entered the ground, all one could see was a sea of white AAP caps as tens of thousands of people of all ages stood together waiving national tri-colours, posters of Kejriwal in all shapes and sizes, colourful balloons and brooms-the party's election symbol.
'Aam Aadmi Party zindabad' (long live AAP), 'mujhe chahiye swaraj' (I want self-rule) and mujhe chahiye poori azadi (I want complete independence), were some of the messages printed on either sides of the caps.
The site was overwhelming.
Spoilt for choice
After the swearing-in ceremony, the large crowds that had started arriving at the Ramlila ground since early morning were obviously starving. And as the gates opened, dozens of food vendors were waiting outside.
Patties, burgers, cream rolls, poppadum's, sprouts, gol gappas, fresh fruits etc. were on offer and people were literally spoilt for choice.
Traffic snarls
Due to security reason, portions of several roads around Ramlila Maidan had to be closed leading to jams in and around central Delhi.
Portions of Barakhamba Road, Asaf Ali Marg, Jawaharlal Nehru Marg, Mata Sundri Marg, Ajmeri Gate Chowk, Ring Road towards Rajghat and some others were shut.
Being a Saturday most of the offices and schools were closed but people headed towards the New Delhi Railway Station were Saffected.
Arvind Kejriwal cannot stop pickpockets
While Kejriwal talked about honesty and ending corruption, some light-fingered gentry went on pick pocketing in the packed Ramlila ground.
According to police, they received several complaints but only ten people came forward to register a written complaint at the Kamla Market police station.
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