Riding on an anti-corruption plank, Arvind Kejriwal's victory in Delhi polls has rekindled memories of George Fernandes' 1967 feat when he defeated Congress strongman S K Patil in Mumbai in his electoral debut.
This also reminds of the humiliating defeat of Indira Gandhi by Raj Narain in Rae Bareli in the 1977 Lok Sabha election.
The then fiery trade unionist, Fernandes had earned the nick-name of a 'giant killer' after he trounced Patil, known as the 'uncrowned king of Bombay', from the South Bombay Lok Sabha constituency .
A three-time Mayor of Bombay, Patil was a Union Minister during the time of Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi. Though a three-time MP, the Congress veteran was defeated by Fernandes in 1967 for the 4th Lok Sabha.
While Patil ran a high profile campaign of "Patil for progress, prosperity and performance", Fernandes punched back with a Marathi slogans "Patil padlech pahijet" and "tumhe yana padu shakta" (Patil must be defeated, and you can defeat).
On the other hand, in Delhi three-time chief minister Sheila Dikshit ran her campaign on development, while Kejriwal made corruption and transparency as his plank. Dikshit (75) has the distinction of being the longest-seving woman Chief Minister in independent India.
Kejriwal (45), whose Aam Admi Party fought its first electin, defeated Dikshit in New Delhi constituency.
His party has done virtually the impossible by turning the polls in the national capital into a triangular affair and relegating Congress to the third position.
He achieved this feat virtually within a year of its formation in November, 2012 by raising the issues of transparency.
A former Income Tax official, Kejriwal came into prominence, especially in Delhi, when Anna Hazare launched an agitation on the Lokpal issue.
A close associate of Hazare, Kejriwal later parted ways with him and turned his organisation India against Corruption into a political entity the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
