Aam Aadmi Party convener and Delhi Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has often said that he does not know how to do politics. He may not be doing that and his government in Delhi may have been fulfilling the promises given to the electorate, but when it comes to reaching out to masses ahead of elections, he knows his job well.
Kejriwal, who landed in Porbandar on Monday evening on a two-day visit to the state, had his hands full. Still, he made an unscheduled visit to Bhavnagar where victims of Gujarat’s hooch tragedy are being treated.
In Saurashtra, like several other national leaders, he did not miss out on offering prayers at the famous Somnath Temple, one of the 12 Jyotrilings in the country. Bowing down before Lord Shiva at Somnath is considered good and leaders try not to miss this opportunity.
A shrewd administrator he is, Kejriwal tried to avoid speaking about anything at Somnath. About the hooch tragedy, he had commented on his arrival on Monday evening and for the other promises, he had a forum open in Rajkot where he did a town hall with the traders.
The traders, mostly from the MSME sector, flooded Kejriwal with queries and also sought solutions to the problems that they have been facing.
And in reply, Kejriwal had five guarantees for them. The AAP convenor said that if the AAP is voted to power then it would do away with the atmosphere of fear and give respect to the traders. He also guaranteed that they would do away with corruption. His other guarantees included giving a refund of VAT within six months, simplifying the GST and importantly making traders from each sector partners of the government when it comes to taking decisions.
Last week, Kejriwal had guaranteed 300 units per month free electricity to the residents of Gujarat, should the AAP come to power.
He has been meeting a cross section of people in the last couple of months and the frequency of his visits only increased with the elections approaching in the state.
In the evening, Kejriwal along with Gujarat AAP leaders visited victims of the hooch tragedy, undergoing treatment at Sir T Hospital in Bhavnagar.
