"7-8 Seats In Surat": Arvind Kejriwal's Latest Prediction For Gujarat Polls

Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal in Surat today made another written prediction about Gujarat Assembly election results, claiming his party will win seven to eight out of 12 seats in 'diamond city' Surat, and that his party will form the government in the state. He had earlier this month put it on paper at an NDTV townhall event that Congress will get fewer than five seats. He had again on Sunday said his party, which failed to score in the last assembly elections in the state, will get over 92 seats this time. He wrote his prediction on a piece of paper and showed it to media persons.

AAP will get seven to eight seats in Surat; 33-year-old Gopal Italia, who is the party's Gujarat chief, will win with a big margin, Mr Kejriwal said, adding that his Chief Ministerial candidate Isudan Gadhvi, and former Patidar quota leader Alpesh Kathiriya will also win.

He promised to "free" traders from the "atmosphere of fear and intimidation" in the state, and appealed to the women and youth of Gujarat to vote for the Aam Aadmi Party.

Arvind Kejriwal also said no private schools will be allowed to increase their fees. "We'll ensure free and quality medical treatment," he said, adding that only AAP can free the state of unemployment.

"Those who leaked (government exam) papers will get 10 years in jail," he said, and announced a Rs 3,000 allowance for the unemployed till they get a job.

"We are providing a time bound solution to deal with inflation, and these people (BJP) are abusing Arvind Kejriwal," he said.

There's no competition between AAP and BJP, we are way ahead, Mr Kejriwal asserted.

He had earlier claimed that people are so scared of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that they shy away from openly admitting support for the AAP, adding that BJP is "agitated" by AAP's rise and the Congress is "nowhere" in the polls.

Surat, which sends 12 MLAs to the state's 182-member Assembly, will vote in the first phase on December 1.

Surat has traditionally swayed towards the ruling BJP, with textile and diamond merchants backing the party, along with lakhs of people associated with the sectors in the business hub.

The AAP has fielded its state unit president Gopal Italia from Katargam, and former Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti leaders Alpesh Kathiriya and Dharmik Malaviya from Varaccha Road and Olpad, respectively. 

Isudan Gadhvi will contest from the Khambhalia Assembly constituency, which is part of Devbhoomi Dwarka district, and falls in the Jamnagar Lok Sabha constituency.

The second phase of voting will be held on December 5 and votes will be counted on December 8.