Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today claimed that the people in Gujarat are scared of the BJP and want a change. The BJP, in turn, is only afraid of his Aam Aadmi Party, he declared while addressing the people in Mehsana -- considered a BJP stronghold -- as part of his "Tiranga Yatra"(Rally for Tricolour).
Declaring that his party has spoken to thousands of people as the Party's 20 Days Privartan yatra covered all constituencies of the state where elections are due by the year-end, Mr Kejriwal said, "Everyone said the BJP indulges in goondagardi (hooliganism). People are scared everywhere. People told us that the BJP tries to scare them".
Gujarat, Mr Kejriwal said, seeks "Badlav (change)". The state, he added, is tired of the BJP and "its sister, the Congress".
Mr Kejriwal, after his party's spectacular victories in Delhi and Punjab, is trying to create a niche in Gujarat, where the BJP has been in power for nearly three decades. This was his fourth visit to the state in about two months.
The Delhi Chief Minister has already pitched the Delhi model of governance in Gujarat, promising free power and water, vastly upgraded schools and healthcare system.
In April, AAP had claimed that its internal survey found that the party is likely to win around 58 seats in Gujarat. The survey, AAP said, indicated that the votes are likely to come from rural areas and the lower and middle-class segments in urban areas.
Last week, AAP announced that it will contest all 182 assembly seats in Gujarat -- its ambition fuelled by its performance in last year's Municipal polls in Surat in which it bagged 27 seats.