Ahmedabad:
Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal plans to take on the BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on his home turf by holding a rally in Ahmedabad today. However, his roadshow to the rally venue hit a brief roadblock this evening, when it was stopped by the police asking Mr Kejriwal to cut down the numbers of vehicles.
The roadshow resumed nearly 10 minutes later, after many bikes were dropped from the motorcade.
Before heading for the rally venue, the AAP chief visited Mahatma Gandhi's Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad. "It is my second visit to this ashram, it is a very spiritual experience to be here. Gandhiji's soul resides here, we all have to follow his teachings of truth and non-violence in these difficult times," he wrote in a note there.
The 45-year-old leader has spent the last three days touring Gujarat to audit Mr Modi's governance. Yesterday, he dropped in to meet Mr Modi, who is also the BJP's prime ministerial candidate, with a list of 16 questions that challenge his claims of development of Gujarat on his watch. (
Read: topped from meeting Narendra Modi, Arvind Kejriwal says he is not a terrorist)
Mr Kejriwal's road-show in Gujarat has been steeped in controversy. The Election Commission says he violated the code of conduct by not seeking prior police permission for his procession through the state; his car and that of Mr Sisodia were attacked; and his brief detention at a police station resulted in street battles between workers of his party and the BJP in Delhi and Lucknow.
AAP is trying hard to emerge as the alternative to the Congress and the BJP in Gujarat. AAP says that if Mr Modi runs for Parliament from anywhere outside Gujarat, Mr Kejriwal is likely to stand against him.