The arrest of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the ‘dubious’ Delhi liquor policy scam case has not been well-received by the people of Delhi; they are waiting to express their resentment against the BJP and its government in the Centre in the general elections, said AAP Delhi unit convener Gopal Rai in a conversation with Anup Verma, claiming, people believe the CM’s arrest on the cusp of the Lok Sabha polls, stems from political malice. On ground, there is a wave in support for INDIA bloc candidates on all the seven city seats, the minister says. Excerpts:
The AAP is contesting on four seats in the capital. What are the key poll strategies and how does the party evaluate its position on ground?
The INDIA bloc is contesting on all the seven seats. As per the seat-sharing formula, the AAP has fielded candidates for four of these seats. With no division of anti-BJP votes this time, both the parties have nearly 40% secured votes from their cadre. AAP is strategising to sway the remaining 20% who are floating voters. Our strategy is to convince them to support the INDIA candidates. Notably, there is strong support in favour of opposition candidates after the arrest of CM Kejriwal. People strongly believe the CM was arrested, that too only days before the elections, due to political vandetta. After assessing the ground situation, we are confident that we will win on all the seven seats in the city. Looking at trends, since 2004, a single party has sweeped all the seats and this time, it will be the INDIA bloc who will trump the saffron party.
How does your party assess the competition from the BJP candidates?
The BJP knows it is losing elections in Delhi. That’s why they have changed six out of the seven MPs. In the last 10 years, not one of these BJP parliamentarians were seen on ground; there was little contribution from them towards public welfare. Therefore, now, they have introduced six fresh faces in the fray. However, it would hardly help as there is significant anti-incumbency against them.
The party issued a list of 40 star campaigners for Gujarat, featuring the names of top leaders who are currently lodged in jail. Will they be available for campaign? And when will the AAP release the names of Delhi campaigners?
People know that our top leaders were arrested in false cases, with the malicious intent of preventing them from campaigning for the party. But we are hopeful; how Sanjay Singh was released on bail, others too will get bail and join the election campaign. We released the list for Gujarat since elections there are scheduled in the early phases. In Delhi, elections will be held in the sixth phase; the party will release the list accordingly. The list of Delhi campaigners will also feature names of local leaders like Gujarat list did.
When will the party release its manifesto and on what lines will it be formulated?
We are already raising the issue of the authoritarian attitude of the BJP-ruled Centre, and its disregard for democratic principles. We are also informing the people on the work done by our governments in Delhi and Punjab and promising to replicate this model of welfare on the national level. All our concerns and promises are in the public domain; but a manifesto will be released in the coming days.
What is the AAP-Congress joint campaign strategy like?
We have already started campaigning on ground. The Congress too, after announcing its candidates, has initiated campaigns in their support. As far as joint campaigns are concerned, you will see them in the days to come. Our motive is to snatch all the seven seats in the capital and we are determined to work towards it. Our alliance partners share our cause.
The AAP launched a website on their idea of the Ram Rajya. Is this a move aimed to promote soft Hindutva?
Our party and government has always respected all religions. Arvind Kejriwal believes in welfare and justice for everyone in society. The website details this view of the Ram Rajya, the one inaugurated by Lord Ram, and championed by the AAP and Arvind Kejriwal where there is no inequality, and everyone’s comfort and welfare is taken care of. Kejriwal has done amazing work in Delhi and Punjab. We have uploaded over 1,000 videos on the website which reflects our welfare agenda for every citizen. We invite BJP to upload similar videos of their MPs. If they have worked in their respective constituencies, they should be able to produce evidence.
Despite having a sizable support in the greater NCR, Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram, and so on, the AAP has not fielded candidates there. Why is that?
We have given candidates in Delhi, Punjab, Gujarat, Goa, and even Assam. On the NCR seats, allies of the INDIA bloc have fielded their candidates. Since we are together in this fight to save the Constitution and oust dictatorship, we are supporting them on these seats.