Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal has hit back at Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit for saying that the fight in the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections will be between the Congress and the BJP and that his party will not have any impact.
While launching the Jhadu Chalao Yatra, the AAP chief ministerial candidate said: “She [Ms. Dikshit] is no one to rule us out in the Delhi elections. This time the aam aadmi will rule her out. Sheila Dikshit is not going to decide the fate of Delhi, but the common people will.”
“The AAP has given the slogan of jhadu chalao, beiman bhagao [throw the corrupt out by wielding the broom, the party symbol], seeking public support for cleansing the political system in the country and to get rid of not just the corrupt but corruption itself,” he added.
Striking a confident note, Mr. Kejriwal said: “With a few exceptions, rarely has it happened that people have voted for parties in power. In recent times, people have voted parties out of power, which benefitted the opposition party. That used to happen because people had no alternative.”
Mr. Kejriwal said the Congress had come to power not because the party was less corrupt, but because people voted out the BJP Government.
“We want this pattern to change and that is why the AAP has provided people with a better alternative. The fact that people consider us an alternative gets evident once you start talking to them on the streets,” he said, claiming that eight out of ten people in the Capital support his party.
Through the yatra, Mr. Kejriwal plans to canvass in all the 70 constituencies in Delhi, interact with people, discuss their problems and seek their support.
Published - November 11, 2013 09:43 am IST
