The first thing that strikes you about Arun Jaitley is that he is no stereotypical politician. You may say he is something of a versatile personality. Besides being a passionate defender of his party at any time of the day on any of the media outlets, Jaitley is an avid cricket fan and controls quite a bit of it in New Delhi. But he also loves watches and friendships.
Undoubtedly, Arun Jaitley has few rivals, if any, in Indian politics for his capacity to charm the media and get a splendid job done in spreading his party's message and viewpoint far and wide. What the Congress's Ahmed Patel does silently, Jaitley does openly.
Many years ago, as a student leader, he fought against Indira Gandhi's regime during the Emergency. Those were formative years that helped shape his identity and politics.
Essentially, Jaitley gains from two advantages. First, he is a senior lawyer and his professional skills sharpen his acumen, help him dissect issues and situations in a split second. He can straight get to the heart of the matter, which, of course, is a great advantage in India's highly competitive politics.
What distinguishes him is that he has a huge capacity to be prompt and witty. He can disarm even the most formidable of opponents with swift repartee. Like the boxer Mohammed Ali, in the political ring, Jaitley can 'float like a butterfly and sting like a bee.'
Second, in New Delhi he possesses an unbeatable capacity to make you feel he has said much more than what he should have, and yet saying precious little. His felicity of expression can be so overpowering that you forget to trick him with a counter-question.
In the ultimate analysis, Jaitley gets away largely because he is a sharp observer of minds. He is not a mass leader, he cannot electrify his audience with his oratorical skill but he makes up for this by his sincere attempt to understand the contours of India's complex social structure and by his ability to work up the loyalty of his juniors through his innate sense of fairness. He is likeable only because he can be trusted that he will never cross the Lakshman Rekha.
With his urbaneness and highly successful career Jaitley stands somewhat awkwardly among the hardcore Hindutva elements in his party and its parent organisation. Actually, he is a quintessential centrist in right-wing politics.
He shies away from the natakbaazi (dramatics) in Indian political system and would seem to have a genuine aversion towards it. He is indeed a rare vanishing breed of politician who insist that probity and decency in public life are simply not negotiable.
This time Jaitley is not fighting the election but his party has gained from it, in having him as its campaign manager; as he is equally at ease handling propaganda, publicity, logistics and the funding of the election campaign. He is directly in charge of the party's campaign in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, and is not new to such onerous responsibility.
In an interview with rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt he talks about his party and the United Progressive government.
Image: A much younger Arun Jaitley. Photograph: Reuters.
Also see: 'We are creating two Indias' | India Votes 2009
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