The Aam Aadmi Party on Friday formally kicked off its Lok Sabha election campaign for Delhi independent of ally Congress with a joint press conference by party convener Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann at the AAP headquarters—206, Rouse Avenue, Delhi—with the slogan, “Sansad mein bhi Kejriwal, toh Dilli hogi aur khushal (Backing Kejriwal for Parliament will bring more prosperity to Delhi)".
For the first time since its formation, AAP is fighting elections as part of an alliance. The four party candidates for Delhi—Somnath Bharti, Sahiram Pehalwan, Mahabal Mishra, and Kuldeep Kumar—were on stage, as was AAP national organisation secretary Sandeep Pathak. The remaining three of the seven Delhi Lok Sabha seats will be fought by the Congress, which is yet to declare its candidates.
AAP organisation incharge and Punjab MP Sandeep Pathak said that this campaign is specific to Delhi. “As far as other states are concerned, we will be launching over the next few days. In Punjab also we will be launching our campaign over the next few days. It will be Punjab-centric but, overall if you see, if you make Kejriwal strong, he will deliver, he will take care of your family," said Pathak. The list of Punjab candidates, he said, is expected in about a week.
“If you look at Indian politics today, the BJP has been bent on destroying the opposition. So that is where the Kejriwal factor comes in. He not only represents new-age politics but he is also capable of fighting Mr Modi’s (dirty) politics. So, that is the basis of AAP’s idea. The campaign can be different for every state," said Pathak. “Overall, the theme is, send Kejriwal’s people to Parliament and he will fight for your rights."
Taking the bull by the horns, Delhi chief minister Kejriwal and his Punjab counterpart Mann dove into the phenomenon of “split voting" in the capital where despite electing AAP with an overwhelming majority of 67 out of 70 and 62 of 70 assembly seats, residents have similarly voted heavily for the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Lok Sabha polls, giving it all seven seats. AAP, despite its impressive showing in the Delhi Vidhan Sabha polls, has not been able to open its account so far in the Lok Sabha contest. In 2024, in an alliance with the Congress in Delhi, the party is striving to change that.
“I have tried to remove the difficulties of each family by being a part of it. I have tried to lend support to every family. If anyone in Delhi falls sick, I feel the pain," said Kejriwal.
Tearing into the BJP, the chief minister said, “When I was working, the BJP, the L-G, and the central government tried to stall all the work that I do for you. Why? They hate you. They hate the two crore people of Delhi. They hate you because you dared to elect a common man to power in Delhi three times. This is your mistake. They are taking revenge."
The chief minister then mentioned all the projects of the AAP government that he said were stalled by the lieutenant governor or the central government: how the AAP government’s mohalla clinics were bulldozed by BJP-ruled MCD six to seven years ago, how he along with ministers Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain, and Gopal Rai staged a sit-in for 10 days at the then lieutenant governor Anil Baijal’s office to get the proposal for putting up CCTV cameras across Delhi passed, how the Ghar Ghar Ration scheme was stalled, electricity for mohalla clinics was disconnected for two months, payment of rent to mohalla clinics was stopped, supply of medicines and tests were blocked.
“Who can be so cruel to stop the medicines for the poor; why so much hatred?" Kejriwal asked. He reminded people of the free yoga programme of the government that benefitted 17,000 people and the Farishte Dilli Ke scheme that encouraged citizens to help accident victims, which saved 23,000 lives, and for which AAP has approached the Supreme Court to get it restarted. The AAP chief then asked, “Where were the seven MPs that you had elected when the supply of medicines, education, yoga were stalled? They were clapping."
Tearing into the BJP, the chief minister alleged, “When the education of your children is stalled, these MPs clap, they celebrate, they throw parties when your family thirsts for something."
Addressing the voters, the chief minister asked, “Aise logon ko humne paal rakha hai, doodh pilate hain aise logon ko, kyon (We empower such people, feed them, why)?"
Kejriwal also referred to the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill passed by the BJP-led government at the Centre, which tilted the balance of power in favour of the lieutenant governor. “When the ordinance was passed in Parliament, when the rights of Delhiites were being robbed, where were these MPs? These seven MPs were clapping," he said. “Today, I am fighting alone against these people. I am fighting alone against the BJP, against the L-G, these seven MPs, the central government. You consider me your son, when you have called me your son, you cannot leave me alone like this. Today, I appeal to you to empower your son. You gave me 62 and 67 of 70 seats and you made me strong in the Vidhan Sabha. I am grateful. It is because of this massive majority that I can fight and perform. Had you given me 40 of the 70 MLAs, the BJP would have toppled the government by instilling fear in them and buying them. How you strengthened my position in the Vidhan Sabha, now strengthen my position in Parliament. Give me the seven MPs who are part of the INDIA bloc."
While AAP has declared its candidates for Delhi, the Punjab list is still awaited. The party will likely launch its Lok Sabha campaign for Punjab from the state with a different catchphrase. AAP and the Congress will contest the Punjab Lok Sabha elections separately as decided by the two.
Regarding the coordination with ally Congress in Delhi, AAP Rajya Sabha member Pathak said, “We are in touch with the Congress regarding the coordination committee and I hope this happens soon. As far as the campaign is concerned, they have their own strategy, they may have their own planning, and timelines. We are just doing it the way we do it."
Appealing to voters in the national capital, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann said that if Kejriwal has the support of seven MPs from Delhi, 13 from Punjab, one from Kurukshetra, and some from other places where AAP is contesting, then, along with the 10 Rajya Sabha MPs, the party will have around 30 to 40 lawmakers, which will enable it to wield political power at the Centre and Kejriwal will not have to fight alone.
AAP is contesting four seats in Delhi, one in Haryana, and two in Gujarat as part of the INDIA bloc. It is contesting three seats in Assam as part of the United Opposition Forum, and 13 seats in Punjab independently. In all, the party is contesting 23 constituencies in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, which is a huge change from its earlier strategy of contesting on all seats.
AAP spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar said that the party is hopeful that the people of Delhi will vote against the “negative and regressive politics" of the BJP and will instead strengthen the hands of the chief minister who has constantly fought for the people of the city. She further said that people are looking at the alliance with a lot of hope and “we will live up to their expectations and fight with a positive, issue-based, people-centric agenda".
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva mocked AAP’s “Sansad mein bhi Kejriwal" campaign, calling it funny.
On social media site X, he asserted that the correct “punchline" for the Kejriwal government is “9 saal @arvindkaijriwal -loot, bhrashtaachaar, dillee badahaal-ye hai aap kee sachchaee (Delhi deteriorated due to Kejriwal’s nine years of plunder and corruption)."
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