Watch: MLA apologises at Bihar meet in Shaheen Bagh! Will Amanatullah’s tears, apologies help Wajid, Ariz?
Crying in public is nothing new. Politicians have done it to drum up support. From India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to his present successor Narendra Modi, almost everyone holding this position has cried in public, for one reason or the other.
The latest being Okhla AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan. If he cried in front of the crowd in Batla House while addressing people from his hometown, a few days ago he apologised to people of Bihar in a meet called by his close aide to break ice.
It is not known that how much tears and apologies will help Amanatullah in convincing Okhla residents to vote for AAP candidates: Sitting Councillor Wajid Khan and new party candidate Salma Khan, wife of Ariz Khan.
Okhla observers said it is done to get a sympathetic response from audience and gain lost ground. “If you work then there is no need to cry as you can get vote on your claim. But most of the time when there is nothing, leaders try to win their audience with tears and by apologising. Right now, Amanatullah is doing that,” said a resident, requesting not to be named.
Psychologists say leaders cry because they, like babies, crave attention and nurture and wish to evoke a sympathetic response from their audience. American neuropsychologist Jodi DeLuca said crying has a purely social function and it often wins support from those who watch you cry.
