Arvinder’s joining a turning point: BJP

the last day of campaigning for Sunday’s municipal elections, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national vice president Shyam Jaju on Friday said the entry of former Delhi Congress president Arvinder Singh ‘Lovely’ into the party was the ‘turning point’ of its month-long canvassing.

Jaju said the party was determined since the beginning that it would not attack chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and the Congress and instead it would highlight its achievements of the last 10 years in the municipal corporations.

“We had decided to undertake a positive campaign and we remained focused. On the other hand, both parties kept spreading negativities. The joining of Singh was a turning point. The former minister came to the BJP with his party leaders and AAP workers also joined the BJP,” Jaju said.

Apart from Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari, 16 party leaders, including all seven Lok Sabha MPs, union ministers (Dr Jitender Singh, Sanjeev Balyan, Nirmala Sitharaman, Uma Bharti, Rajnath Singh, and M Venkaiah Naidu) film stars -- Ravi Kishan, Gajendra Chauhan, Hema Mailini -- held roadshows, meetings, and activities as star campaigners.

Jaju said about 3,300 public meetings including, roadshows and nukkad nataks, were organised. As part of its reality check campaign, Tiwari spent nights in unauthorised colonies, slum clusters, and villages.

“The corner and small meetings helped us get public opinion. 700 artists participated in the nukkad nataks staged before the youth and women and most of them were ABVP workers. Those performances were staged on more than 3, 000 places in 272 wards,” Rajeev Babbar, vicepresident, Delhi BJP said.

On Friday, Tiwari held a roadshow in Saket and Mehrauli area and went to Kalkaji Temple in the evening.

Union Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda participated in a roadshow in south Delhi. Vijay Goel, youth and sports affairs minister along with party MP Babul Supriyo, campaigned on bikes in old Delhi area.

BJP national spokesperson Dr Sambit Patra addressed a meeting of e-rickshaw operators and drivers near the Delhi University Metro Station.