Political journalist and commentator Saba Naqvi’s Capital Conquest is the first and the most comprehensive book on the trajectory of the Aam Admi Party’s fortunes since its inception. The author has closely followed the party’s rise and fall in its early days and the subsequent spectacular turnaround of the party’s fate in the Delhi Assembly elections. This is an incredible story of the relentless efforts of its volunteers, party cadres and most importantly the captain of the ship, Arvind Kejriwal and the fault lines and cracks that catalysed an ugly turmoil recently.
The narrative opens with Naqvi describing the charged atmosphere at Ramlila Maidan on February 14, 2015, the day Arvind Kejriwal took oath as the Chief Minister of Delhi. Right at the onset, the author cites anecdotes and experiences from her reportage that make it amply clear
to the reader that the AAP’s approach was refreshingly different from those of the traditional political players. Naqvi tells us how she was taken by surprise at the swearing-in ceremony when a few AAP spokespersons were denied entry by the security due to lack of valid ID’s but they remained patient and calm till someone came along and got them in, a sort of behaviour alien to politicians in Delhi, a city known to be the domain of VIPs. The narration is simple and captures the attention of the readers, particularly those who are not avid readers of politics.
With the progress of the book, the reader gets a sense of the situation on the ground and is able to comprehend how the workings of the party were radically different from the Congress and BJP right from the grassroots level. Naqvi highlights the differences through the interactions she had with countless people ranging from rickshaw pullers, homeless labourers, clerics to party volunteers, leaders from other parties and the people who were the architects of the campaigns of AAP and other political parties. A detailed analysis, which is not coloured by the high decibel sensationalism that the media indulged in, reflects upon the political landscape in the months leading upto the elections and what led to the party’s victory.
The book delves into a detailed description of the methodologies the party adopted to expand its voter base in Delhi. In chapters like The Second Coming: Delhi 2013 to 2015, she talks about the campaign logistics and the strong link established among the party cadres, volunteers and leaders. She also discusses, ‘the power of 26-year-olds’ and young stalwarts from various fields, all of whom quit their lucrative jobs to join the party and later brought about a surge of innovation in the campaigns. There is also a chapter on Narendra Modi’s infamous pinstriped suit that became a major PR failure.
At certain points in the book, the reader does get an impression that Naqvi has slipped into a Kejriwal-eulogising mode and she sounds overtly sympathetic to Kejriwal’s point of view as exemplified in the lines: “ For many people who have vested interests, Arvind Kejriwal is the most dangerous man in India today. For those who admire him, he can be called the most courageous man. He fought battles that seemed impossible to win; he lost some and then won so handsomely that he made a little slice of contemporary history in India.” However, she substantiates all her viewpoints with data and prevents the narrative from being too lopsided. The bias is limited to only a tinge and can be ignored in the light of the brilliant reportage the book is steeped in.