Poll campaign 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
he national capital on Sunday saw high-octane canvassing, with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal urging voters to back 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, a day after he held similar events in South Delhi and East Delhi Lok Sabha seats.
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.
Addressing voters, he urged them to back his party on May 25, the day the Capital is going to polls.
T“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,” Mr. Kejriwal said.
The BJP’s charge was led by Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Bengaluru MP Tejasvi Surya.
The party held door-todoor campaigning beside padyatras throughout the day.
Addressing traders in Amar Colony, Mr. Puri said the BJP is seeking votes based on the work done by
Prime Minister Narendra Modi while Mr. Kejriwal is making wild allegations against his party leadership as the “corrupt” Delhi government has “no achievements to show”.
“Today, we are the fth largest economy in the world. By 2047, we will be a developed nation. This is happening due to the development done by Mr. Modi,” Mr. Puri said.
He also attacked the Congress, saying if there was ever a threat to democracy in the country, it was during its government in June 1975, when they imposed the national Emergency in the country.
Mr. Surya led a roadshow in Chandini Chowk and said Mr. Kejriwal has lost the moral right to comment on graft and transparency.
“Do you really think Kejriwal has any credibility left? He is the poster boy of corruption. He has made many U-turns in his political career and is in alliance with the people he himself called corrupt,” Mr. Surya said in a veiled reference to AAP’s alliance partner Congress.
Mr. Sarma campaigned in North East Delhi. He slammed Mr. Kejriwal for his comments claiming that senior BJP leaders were sidelined by Mr. Modi, when he assumed the charge as the country’s Prime Minister.
“He is talking about the BJP sidelining leaders. He has forgotten how he betrayed people like [social activist] Anna Hazare, [former AAP leaders] Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan.”
Meanwhile, Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva said the party distributed pamphlets among voters at booth-level underlining achievements of Mr. Modi.