Delhi Chief Minister and national convener of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday asked AAP workers and party cadres in Gujarat to ensure that people do not waste their votes on the Congress in the upcoming Assembly polls as the party was not anywhere in the picture as a significant electoral contender.
Mr. Kejriwal had arrived in Gujarat on a two-day visit to campaign for the Assembly polls to be held later this year. As many as 6,989 newly appointed office-bearers from all districts took oath on Sunday in Ahmedabad in the presence of Kejriwal and other party leaders.
On Monday, he will address a Town Hall event in Ahmedabad, where he would talk about Delhi model of governance and development. In Gujarat’s polity, AAP is seeking to emerge as the clear alternative to BJP, which has been in power since 1998.
“Fixed match” in Gujarat
According to him, the AAP can form the next government in Gujarat if the party bags the votes of those voters, who are angry with the ruling BJP but do not wish to vote for the opposition Congress that failed to dislodge the BJP in the last 25 years. “There are people who don’t want BJP rule in the State and they also don’t like voting for Congress. We have to get their votes as we are the only alternative to BJP in the State,” he told the party leaders.
“We are taking this pledge to serve the country and bring the rule that was dreamt of by Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel,” Mr. Kejriwal said.
He also slammed both BJP and Congress of playing a “fixed match” in Gujarat where one party rules and another remain in opposition on paper. “BJP buys Congress MLAs and leaders by paying money but it cannot buy our leaders and workers as we are honest and patriotic people working for the service of the country.”
The Delhi CM claimed that within no time, the AAP has been able to organise into a formidable party in the State in every district and a large number of people have joined the party as they are so “tired and fed up” of the BJP rule in the State.
Free healthcare, better education
He asked the party office bearers and workers to visit each home or household in Gujarat and explain how AAP government can get them “free electricity and better education for their kids and free healthcare” if voted to power in the State.
“We have to reach households across the State to tell about our works in Delhi and Punjab, how we have reduced electricity rates and provided free education. We also have to tell people that there is no use voting for the Congress. Last time, they voted for the Congress, and today see how many Congress MLAs have left their own party and joined BJP,” he said addressing the AAP office bearers.
Interestingly, Mr. Kejriwal’s Gujarat visit came a few days after a delegation of 17 members of Gujarat BJP visited the national capital to inspect government schools and hospitals/neighbourhood clinics and “expose” the claims of AAP. In his speech on Sunday, Mr. Kejriwal claimed that “the BJP delegation from the State could not find even one shortcoming in Delhi schools and mohalla clinics” during their visit to the national capital.
