At a rally in Delhi’s Hari Nagar area on Thursday evening, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal held a rally, which was primarily dominated by women voters. Behind AAP’s rally stage, white flags with a red bat symbol were fluttering. These flags signified the rebellion of AAP’s sitting MLA Rajkumari Dhillon.
As Kejriwal addressed the crowd, Dhillon, who was until the party’s official candidate before being replaced a few days back, raised slogans against the AAP chief. By the end of the rally, it became apparent why Kejriwal’s “booster dose” was needed in the Hari Nagar seat.
Dhillon was AAP’s official candidate for Hari Nagar until the last week of nomination. However, sources said the recent internal surveys of the party showed “strong anti-incumbency” against Dhillon and her family in Hari Nagar. Surinder K Setia, the husband of sitting AAP’s councillor from Subhash Nagar, replaced Dhillon at the last moment.
“Setia has my direct number. He can directly tell me what your problems are. We will get it resolved,” Kejriwal said at the rally. He also told the crowd that AAP was forming the government again in Delhi. “Don’t elect an MLA from any other party, else he or she will keep fighting with us and won’t work for you,” he said.
As AAP faces a 10-year anti-incumbency and corruption allegations by its rivals, Kejriwal has intensified his party’s campaign and is going all out to woo voters in the national capital ahead of the February 8 polls.
Later on Thursday evening, Kejriwal held rallies in Madipur for Rakhi Birlan and Rajouri Garden for Dhanwati Chandella.
Birlan was shifted from Mangolpuri due to “anti-incumbency and unfavourable conditions”. She is being portrayed as an “outsider” candidate by her opponents in Madipur.
In Rajouri Garden, AAP is facing a strong battle from BJP’s Manjinder Singh Sirsa. A prominent Sikh face in the BJP, he also carried the tag of being the richest Delhi MLA between 2017 and 2020. Sirsa, who was then a SAD leader, had defeated AAP in this seat in a 2017 bypoll.
Even on Friday, Kejriwal’s three rallies are being held in seats which are being viewed as either a weak turf for AAP or where it wants to pump up its victory margin. While Najafgarh is seen to be the weak link, particularly after Kailash Gehlot quit AAP earlier this year, the battle in Dwarka and Uttam Nagar would be to increase its margin, as per the party’s internal survey.
According to sources, it was strategised to hold Kejriwal’s street meetings and rallies in constituencies where the party is planning to win or where the victory margin could be thin. Such seats could range around 18 to 21 seats.
After the announcement of the Delhi Assembly polls, Kejriwal’s street meetings and rallies started this week. He has been holding three rallies and street meetings each day. So far, he has held nearly a dozen rallies, including in seats such as Patparganj, Trilokpuri, Adarsh Nagar and Vishwas Nagar.
While Vishwas Nagar, a BJP bastion, is a seat that the AAP is desperately trying to crack, it intends to clinch Patparganj from the BJP for educationist Avadh Ojha. Similarly, in Trilokpuri, the battle is to establish Anjana Parcha, who has replaced the present AAP MLA from the seat, while the party intends to consolidate its margin in Adarsh Nagar.
While Kejriwal has kept himself focused on such seats and is holding closed-door meetings in his own constituency, other senior leaders are, this week, focusing on seats, which are being considered “favourable” for AAP for this week.
In the coming days, the AAP chief is expected to hold rallies in Deoli and Jangpura, where Manish Sisodia, currently the sitting MLA from Patparganj, has been fielded.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and AAP MP Sanjay Singh are holding padyatras, roadshows and rallies. Many Punjab ministers and leaders from different state units of the party have been given charge of respective seats as well.
Sources indicate that after the first phase of Kejriwal’s rallies, the strategy could be revisited. Kejriwal could be holding roadshows in the last week of AAP’s campaign, besides leading the communication warfare of the party.
AAP is slated to release another manifesto or “Kejriwal’s guarantee card” soon. This is intended to further boost AAP’s campaign as the Delhi election campaign will hit its last leg.
Voting in the 70-member Delhi Assembly will be held on February 5. Results will be declared on February 8.
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