Aam Aadmi Party convenor and New Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, on Saturday, urged the people of Gujarat to give his party a chance in the state in the upcoming assembly polls and see its governance.
Flanked by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Kejriwal was addressing people during the tiranga yatra in Nikol, a Patidar dominated area in the eastern party of Ahmedabad. Their visit is seen as the beginning of the poll campaign of the AAP.
Gujarat goes to polls before the year end and AAP has decided to contest in all the 182 assembly seats in the state that has always witnessed a direct fight between the BJP and the Congress.
There was a sea of humanity on the one and a half kilometre stretch of the yatra, with people waving the tricolour. The presence of people belonging to minority communities at the event suggests that the Congress may have a tough time ahead.
Kejriwal said the people of Gujarat have given chance to the BJP for 25 years. “Now, give us one chance,” he said. The AAP leader said they were not in Gujarat to defeat the BJP or the Congress, but for the victory of Gujarat and the people of Gujarat.
“Give us a chance and together with 6.5 crore people, we will take Gujarat forward,” he said. Having ruled Gujarat for 25 years, the BJP has now got an ego, Kejriwal claimed.
Mann said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has come in power in Delhi and Punjab and the next target for the party is Gujarat. He said his party is preparing for the Gujarat assembly polls.
The roadshow was marred by a social media post by Amit Malviya of the BJP. In the short video, a young worker, alleged to be of the AAP, is seen giving the tricolour, AAP’s scarf and Rs 500 to youngsters. While Malviya has been trolled, AAP in Gujarat hasn’t reacted to it so far.
AAP leaders in Gujarat did react to Gujarat Education Minister Jitubhai Vaghani’s statement that a chief minister of the stature of Mayor has come to Gujarat.
Gujarat AAP president Gopal Italiya and Isudaan Ghadvi said Vaghani’s statement was an insult of the people of Gujarat and the minister should respect the post of a chief minister.
Earlier in the day, the AAP leaders visited the Sabarmati Ashram. On Sunday, they will visit Swaminarayan Temple and meet people from various walks of life.
On Friday, AAP leaders had given a memorandum to the city police commissioner requesting proper bandobast. They had feared an attack on Kejriwal by whom they termed as “BJP goons”.
