Poll campaigning gathers steam in Delhi; AAP, BJP spar over development
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asks voters to back AAP in Lok Sabha poll to keep him out of jail; BJP calls him ‘poster boy of corruption’; Cong. says will expose BJP’s ‘authoritarian’ rule at Centre
Delhi on Sunday saw high-octane canvassing for the Lok Sabha poll, with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal urging voters to back the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) so that he “doesn’t go to jail again”, while the BJP called him “the poster boy of corruption”.
AAP’s INDIA bloc partner, the Congress, carried out padyatras and door-todoor campaigning, with its interim Delhi chief Devender Yadav saying they will expose BJP’s “authoritarian” rule at the Centre.
Mr. Kejriwal led his party’s roadshows in New Delhi and West Delhi constituencies. This was the second day of his canvassing after he was released from Tihar Jail on Friday following a Supreme Court order that granted him interim bail till June 1.
“I have to go back to jail after 20 days. If you choose jhadu [AAP’s symbol], I won’t have to go back to jail. The BJP wants to stop the work that I am doing in Delhi by keeping me in jail,” he said.
The BJP’s charge was led by Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, and Bengaluru MP Tejasvi Surya.
‘CM lost credibility’
Mr. Puri told traders in Amar Colony that the BJP is seeking votes based on the work done by Prime Minister Narendra Modi while the “corrupt” Delhi government has “no achievements to show”.
“Today, we are the fffth largest economy in the world. By 2047, we will be a developed nation. This is happening due to the development done by Mr. Modi,” the Union Minister said.
Mr. Surya led a roadshow in Chandni Chowk and said Mr. Kejriwal has lost the moral right to comment on corruption. “He is the poster boy of corruption. He has made many Uturns in his political life and is in alliance with the same people he had called corrupt,” he said in a veiled reference to AAP’s alliance partner, the Congress.
Mr. Sarma campaigned in North East Delhi and slammed Mr. Kejriwal for claiming that senior BJP leaders were sidelined by Mr. Modi. “He has forgotten how he betrayed Anna Hazare, Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan,” the Assam CM said.