At the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) first venture into Uttar Pradesh ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, party leaders pitched for their convener Arvind Kejriwal to contest against BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi from Varanasi, even as the social activist-politician told a rally in Kanpur that the next government at the Centre could not be formed without his party’s support.
Ahead of Kejriwal’s address at Kanpur, senior AAP leaders Sanjay Singh and Manish Sisodia made a plea to him to contest from Varanasi, where Modi is likely to be fielded. The Uttar Pradesh seat is currently represented by senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi.
“We want the people of Varanasi know the answer to all the issues Kejriwal has raised on (Mukesh) Ambani. Kejriwal will ask Modi these questions from Varanasi,” Sisodia said in his speech.
Kejriwal obliged them by targeting Modi on his alleged links with domestic corporate czar Mukesh Ambani. The former Delhi Chief Minister, who has not indicated his strategy for the Lok Sabha polls, was silent on the issue of contesting the Varanasi seat.
He also claimed that the AAP would win 100 seats in the next parliamentary polls and no government could be formed at the Centre without his party’s support. The AAP leader accused Modi of maintaining silence on the issue of FDI-in-retail and accused the Rajasthan BJP of compromising on the issue of Robert Vadra’s land deal.
Kejriwal said he would visit Gujarat from March 5 to 8 to see the so-called development claimed by Modi in the state.