The Aam Aadmi Party will hold 200 “Sankalp Sabha” meetings in four Lok Sabha constituencies of Delhi it is contesting as part of a seat-sharing deal with the Congress, to seek people’s support against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest.
Addressing a press conference, Delhi Minister Gopal Rai said the meetings, to be held in 40 Assembly segments under the four Lok Sabha seats, will be attended by senior AAP leaders and ministers.
Rai and AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh will take part in the “Sankalp Sabha” meetings in the 40 Assembly segments. Rai will hold the first meeting in the Vishwas Nagar Assembly segment under the East Delhi Lok Sabha constituency.
When asked if Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s wife Sunita Kejriwal will attend these meetings, Rai said only party leaders will hold the ‘Sankalp Sabha’ meetings.
Poll management is crucial in this Lok Sabha elections rather than the candidates, Rai said and claimed that under the ongoing door-to-door ‘Jail Ka Jawab, Vote Se’ campaign, a majority of three lakh households have said that the arrest of the Delhi chief minister and the treatment meted to him in the jail was wrong.
Kejriwal has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with a money-laundering case linked to the alleged excise policy scam in the national capital.
He is currently in judicial custody.The first phase of the ‘Jail Ka Jawab, Vote Se’ campaign launched by the AAP to generate support against Kejriwal’s arrest and judicial remand will end on April 25. The party will hold ‘Sankalp Sabha’ meetings to augment support against Kejriwal’s arrest.
“After each meeting, people take a pledge to respond to the imprisonment of Kejriwal with a vote in the May 25 Lok Sabha polls. We are aiming to prepare one lakh people who will further visit households in the city and seek support for the party,” Rai said.
He said under the ‘Jail Ka Jawab, Vote Se’ campaign launched on April 9, over 2,000 teams of party volunteers visited three lakh households in the four Lok Sabha constituencies. These teams covered on an average 50,000 to 60,000 households per day, he said.
“Around 90 per cent of the people contacted believed that the arrest of Kejriwal was wrong.
Also, many who voted for the BJP in the last Lok Sabha polls said they were angry over the arrest of Kejriwal and will not vote for that party this time,” he claimed.
Sharing with reporters the feedback received during the campaign, Rai claimed that people also do not believe the BJP’s allegation that Kejriwal was arrested for corruption. They believe his arrest was political in nature, he said.
“The emotional attachment of people with Kejriwal has increased and those who voted for AAP in the Assembly elections said that it was an insult to their vote,” he said and added that there was a “qualitative change” in the perception of the people that will be visible in the election results.
The ‘Sankalp Sabha’ meetings will conclude on May 23, Rai said and added that after the Congress prepares its campaign planning for the three seats it is contesting, the AAP will extend to it whatever cooperation the party needs for the polls.
The Lok Sabha polls are scheduled to be held in seven phases starting April 19 and the counting of votes will be taken up on June 4. Delhi goes to polls on May 25.
