Will V-Day make CM Kejriwal effusive?

When the ‘mufflerman’ takes charge on Saturday, February 14, as CM of New Delhi, he could be hoping that the love affair between the people of New Delhi and AAP would continue for long. On Valentine’s Day, after he takes over as the custodian of the affairs of about two crore people in the Indian capital, will the new CM use the moment to express his love and gratitude to Sunitha, his wife, once again?

Before his fascination for AAP and the broom, Kejriwal was swept away, about two decades ago, by the charms of his IRS batch mate, Sunitha, in Mussoorie. After he fell headlong into love, life changed for the better and Sunitha has been managing it, spick and span. Their 1993 IRS batch mates might not have thought that the bespectacled introvert and the outgoing and genteel Sunitha would together change the political history of the Indian capital. Nor would they have thought that the fiery activist in Kejriwal would go knocking at the doors of Sunitha, one evening, to propose his love.

Sunitha was quick to accept the proposal and what followed has been a saga of love and sacrifice that Kejriwal has acknowledged many a times. Today, he is getting another chance to do it and perhaps CM Kejriwal could mark the day with his tributes to Sunitha.

When Kejriwal ended his 10-year stint at the IRS to get actively involved in politics, Sunitha did not object. She merely took on more responsibilities to support her husband. Kejriwal had started his political career in the house at Kaushambi, which was allotted to Sunitha, who is still with the IRS. The house became the office of Kejriwal, who slowly started getting busy with his public commitments, while Sunitha had the additional responsibility of managing the house along with her job. Her domestic responsibilities have not affected the career of this lady, who is an Additional Commissioner with the Delhi IT department.

When Kejriwal started the second phase of his activist life, Sunitha was apprehensive because the leader's health had been taking a beating. Diabetes and persistent cough were two major health concerns of Kejriwal that Sunitha had to take care of. When he was CM, Kejriwal would leave for office with home-cooked food. When he took to the streets, fighting against central government policies, the food accompanied him, and Sunitha ensured that he had it in time.

When Delhi expressed its confidence in Kejriwal in 2015, the AAP leader did not have to think twice to dedicate his successes to his wife who had stood by him through thick and thin. He did not have to search for words to praise her contributions to his successes, because when he said that he would not have become anything without her support, the words flowed from his heart. Kejriwal repeated the same sentiment once again at Patel Nagar in front of his party office and might as well do it today, a big day for him as well as lovers all around the world.

For Sunitha, the acknowledgements were perhaps the best gift she could get- not because the CM elect dedicated his success to her might- but because she had a place in the heart of her man, who has scaled the heights of personal successes.