NEW DELHI: Calling party candidate from East Delhi Atishi Marlena ‘the school saviour’ of the Aam Aadmi Party, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday urged voters to choose a common man over a celebrity even as he frequently encountered Congress supporters at most places along with the roadshow.
Acknowledging the presence of supporters of the rival party, the Delhi chief minister said, “I see Congress supporters here. I know you want Modi to lose and it is our goal too. You stand with us and vote for AAP as we are the only ones who can defeat the BJP.”
Taking on BJP candidate, cricketer-turned-politician Gautam Gambhir, Kejriwal asked his supporters to gauge where the BJP candidate belonged – on a cricket field or in politics. “If DDA comes to raze your house if you have trouble with the Delhi Police, who will come to your aid? Your local MLA and MP. Atishi is such a person that you will be able to approach her at any hour, she will help,” he said.
Further attacking Gambhir, the Delhi chief minister said, “Gambhir is a cricketer who has made us proud in cricket but he should stick to cricket and not get into politics. He would be in London, Johannesburg when you would need him here. Choose your representative in Parliament carefully,” Kejriwal said amid slogans of ‘Kejriwal Zindabad’.
Deputy Chief Minister and local Patparganj MLA Manish Sisodia later joined the roadshow. Kejriwal will be visiting each constituency in the coming days. Atishi, till date, has filed three complaints against the candidature of Gambhir alleging a violation of election rules.
The cricketer-turned-politician was also challenged to an open debate by the AAP candidate, to which he replied he needed at least two and half years to understand what he is getting into after which he will debate on an open platform with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Later, the Delhi chief minister and Atishi took a ride on an e-rickshaw to meet the people living in unauthorised colonies.