Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at a rally in Punjab
Arvind Kejriwal today wore a bright yellow turban and asked Punjab to "break Delhi's record" in voting his Aam Aadmi Party to power, launching its campaign for the 2017 state elections at the Maghi Mela, a religious fair in Muktsar.
He made promises. Like a crore each for the families of security personnel martyred in the terror attack at the Pathankot air base, after an AAP government is formed in Punjab. He also invoked Guru Gobind Singh and Sikh pride. The hashtag #HopeofPunjabKejriwal, top Twitter trend on Thursday morning, continued to trend through the day.
Arvind Kejriwal has declared that Punjab is his party's next stop after the conquest of Delhi last year, shaking up the traditional political dynamics in Punjab, which has seen the Congress and the Akali Dal, along with partner BJP, in a straight contest for years.
Also at the Muktsar fair to address rallies in a show of strength, are Congress chief in Punjab Amrinder Singh and Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his son and deputy Sukhbir Badal of the Akali Dal. But Mr Kejriwal was billed as the star attraction.
The fair draws thousands of Sikh devotees and political workers from neighbouring districts.
The Congress recently effected a change of guard in the state, bringing in former chief minister Amrinder Singh as party chief to galavanise the state unit into a winning team in time for the elections. The Congress has been out of power for nine years, with the Akali Dal-BJP combine making history in 2012 by winning a second straight term. Punjab had, before that, always voted alternately.
All four seats that Arvind Kejriwal's AAP had won in its debut national election in 2014 were from Punjab and the party fancies its chances in the state especially after it spectacular performance in the Delhi assembly elections last year, when it swept 67 of the capital's 70 seats.