Kejriwal’s Message After Stunning Gujarat Win Has ‘Delhi Model of Development’ Tag
A day after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’s impressive debut in the Gujarat civic polls, the party’s national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal released a 75-second video, thanking the people of Gujarat for “beginning of a new politics”.
“Gujarat has initiated a new politics, honest politics, the politics of work, politics of good schools, the politics of good hospitals, the politics of cheap and 24-hour electricity supply,” the CM said. The ‘Delhi Model of Development’ has been the calling card of the AAP as it has ventured into Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Gujarat, fighting municipal and panchayat elections for the first time. The chief minister said that the AAP will work for the improvement of the state along with the support of the people.
Repeatedly thanking the people of Gujarat, Kejriwal made a special mention to the people of Surat where the debutant AAP replaced the Congress as the opposition. Kejriwal said, “I want to thank the people of Gujarat from the bottom of my heart. Especially, the people of Surat by defeating a 125-year-old party and giving a new party the responsibility of playing the role of the opposition.” The chief minister assured the people that each of AAP’s candidates would fulfill his or responsibility with integrity.
In his video address, Kejriwal said he would visit Surat on the 26th and “thank the people personally”. AAP had announced on Tuesday that the chief minister will take out a road show in Surat on the 26th of this month.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday made inroads in Gujarat politics, winning 27 seats in the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC). Elections to six municipal corporations in the state were held on Sunday and counting took place on Tuesday.
While the BJP retained power by winning 93 seats in the 120-seat SMC, the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP won remaining 27 seats. The Congress, which had won 36 seats in SMC last time, was reduced to zero seats.
The AAP received crucial support from the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS), the organization agitating for quota for the Patel community, once led by Hardik Patel.
Hardik Patel is now the working president of Gujarat Congress. Though the PAAS is now virtually defunct, two of its prominent members – Alpesh Kathiria and Dharmik Malavia – are still active in Surat and command support in the community.
