Arvind Kejriwal On Why Delhi Civic Body, Gujarat Polls Happening Together

Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal said today that the BJP will lose both, the upcoming Delhi civic body polls as well as the Gujarat Assembly elections.

He claimed that people are unhappy with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) as well as the performance of the government in Gujarat and it's the fear of losing both the polls that has forced the BJP to conduct the two elections simultaneously.

Mr Kejriwal made these statements while participating in an NDTV Townhall programme in Ahmedabad, along with Isudan Gadhvi, AAP's Chief Ministerial face in the Gujarat polls.

Elections to the 182-member Gujarat Assembly will be conducted in two phases, on December 1 and 5. Votes will be counted on December 8. For the 250 MCD wards, election will be held on December 4 and results will be out on December 7.

Asked to comment on the fact that the AAP supremo is now tied up with the MCD elections on one hand and the Gujarat Assembly polls on the other, the Delhi CM said that it's the BJP leadership that's in a fix now, not him.

"To keep Arvind Kejriwal at bay, they have been forced to conduct the two elections simultaneously. Now they are the ones who are in a fix, not me. They are the ones who are scared, not me. They are scared of Kejriwal and want to keep him entangled," he said.

He further said that the BJP's top leadership is worried about losing both the elections, and they will lose both the elections.

Elaborating on how he will manage the two elections simultaneously, the AAP leader said: "It's the people who will manage these elections. If people are happy with a government and an administration, no new party will ever be able to make a dent. In Gujarat, people are not happy with the BJP government."

Further explaining his point, the Delhi CM added: "In Delhi, people are happy and satisfied with the AAP government. That's why, no new party will be able to survive in Delhi and we don't need to worry about Delhi. In comparison, if you look at Gujarat, a survey in February-March this year showed AAP at zero per cent. Today, the same survey shows AAP at 29-30 per cent."

Mr Kejriwal said people were frustrated with 15 years of BJP misrule in the Delhi civil body, as well as the party's misrule in Gujarat, where it has been in power for 27 years. "In both these places, BJP will lose," he asserted.