Arvind Kejriwal intensifies Gujarat campaign amid crisis in Delhi

As the crisis between the Arvind Kejriwal government and Lieutenant Governor (L-G) Vinai Kumar Saxena deepens in New Delhi, one pattern that is emerging is the Delhi CM intensifying his campaigns here in Gujarat.

In the past one month, the AAP leader has landed in the state a record seven times, announcing his “guaranteed” promises of providing “better education, health, free electricity upto 300 units, unemployment allowance”, among other welfare schemes if the party came to power.

Although the Delhi CM started focusing on Gujarat soon after winning the Punjab Assembly elections in March, he has intensified his campaigns since mid-July, coinciding with the L-G denying him permission to travel to Singapore to attend a global summit there.

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The AAP supremo visited several districts of Gujarat and claimed that he was not allowed by the central government to speak at the event in Singapore where the “world’s top leaders had been invited.” He also claimed that none of the BJP chief ministers were invited as “they hadn’t done anything worthwhile to show the world.”

On July 21, the L-G ordered a CBI inquiry into the AAP government’s excise policy for alleged corruption. Kejriwal was in Surat on that day and made his first “guaranteed” promise of providing 300 units of free electricity to every household. As the flashpoints increased, Kejriwal started making his visits more frequent.

In his seven visits to Gujarat, he announced a series of “guaranteed” promises including free electricity, Rs 3,000 unemployment allowance, Rs 1,000 monthly allowance to willing women, free and better education, health among others. He traveled to different parts of the state such as Devbhumi Dwarka, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, Ahmedabad and Himatnagar.

A team of CBI officials raided the residence of Deputy CM Manish Sisodia on August 19 and a day later, Kejriwal announced his two-day Gujarat visit along with Sisodia. The AAP chief said, “Their (BJP) ground is moving in Gujarat and that’s why they want to arrest all of us.”

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Kejriwal raised those issues in his speeches claiming he was being “hounded” by the central government for “improving education and health standards” in Delhi.

When asked if Kejriwal is focusing more on Gujarat in view of his government’s stand-off between the central government-controlled L-G office, the party’s state president Gopal Italia said, “..BJP is furious with the kind of support that Arvind Kejriwal ji is receiving in Gujarat. The acceptance of AAP is the reason they (BJP) are after our leaders.”

“...Kejriwal is projecting himself as a victim and as someone who wants to really improve education and health sectors in the country but the BJP is not letting him do it and it’s working,” said an academician with a top business school in the city. He added, “Kejriwal is smartly projecting himself as a clean and educated politician... One has to admit that his ‘Delhi model’ is being discussed in Gujarati households now, which wasn’t the case a month back. However, how much of this talk translates into votes is a matter of debate...”