Arvind Kejriwal addressing a rally of his AAP in Delhi
Arvind Kejriwal today took a leaf out of Rahul Gandhi's book and shared his own "Kalavati experience" as he addressed a victory rally of his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi.
Mr Kejriwal was addressing a crowd of about 4,500 members of his party, including newly elected candidates and party volunteers, when he looked back on his tough, but rewarding campaign for the assembly election.
"I was doing a road show since a month. A poor man approached me, he gave me all the money he had in his pocket. He was a rickshaw puller, said he had earned Rs.30 that day and he said he wants to give our party all his money," the 45-year-old tax officer turned politician said.
The anecdote raised parallels to Rahul Gandhi's Kalavati story. The widow from Maharashtra's Vidarbha region shot to fame in 2009 when the Congress leader visited her and then mentioned her story in Parliament.
On Sunday, Mr Gandhi, the Congress number 2, promised to draw lessons from Mr Kejriwal's party, which won massive public support to place a close second in Delhi with 28 of 70 seats, pushing the Congress to a poor third.
"The Aam Aadmi Party involved a lot of non-traditional people and we will learn from that...and will better it in a way you cannot imagine," said Mr Gandhi, 43, who had campaigned extensively in Delhi and the three other states where his party was mauled.