Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Friday claimed that he had learnt the next Punjab Assembly elections would be held in November and urged people to ensure that Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann returns to power for a second term.
Kejriwal had come here to participate in a roadshow organised to thank Bathinda residents for re-electing Padamjeet Singh Mehta, son of Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) president Amarjit Singh Mehta, as Mayor on Thursday.
Kejriwal said, “I have been told that the elections will be held in November and not in February. You have to do one thing, make Bhagwant Mann the Chief Minister again. The public mood has changed significantly under the AAP government. During previous regimes, particularly the SAD government, people used to take off their shoes to hit those in power, whereas now I can see happiness and satisfaction on the faces of the people.”
Kejriwal said Punjab had seen many Chief Ministers over the past 75 years, but had never had such an honest Chief Minister. “In the last four years not a single allegation of corruption has been levelled against Bhagwant Mann. Had there been any wrongdoing, agencies like the CBI and ED would have conducted raids. Do you think Modi would have spared him?” he said.
Kejriwal also claimed that no allegations had been levelled against Mann’s family members or ministers.
He further alleged that when he came to Bathinda during the 2022 elections, he was informed that people were burdened with the “Jojo Tax”. He claimed that after the AAP came to power, corruption and ‘loot-khasoot’ had ended.
Further, taking a swipe at rival parties, Kejriwal said people referred to one party as the “chitta party”, alleging that drugs were rampant during its tenure. He added that many people in anger also called it the “beadbi party”. Referring to another party, he asked the crowd to identify what he termed the “jhagda party”, claiming it was known more for internal infighting than public service. He described a third party as the “ED party”, alleging that it relied on threats from central agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate. In contrast, Kejriwal said the Aam Aadmi Party is “your own party” that works for the people.
Later, Mann said the huge turnout at the roadshow reflected the affection people had for the AAP government. He said the response was the result of the government’s work in sectors such as healthcare, education, free electricity and irrigation.
Taking a dig at opposition parties, Mann alleged that two or three parties were busy striking understandings and forming alliances among themselves.
Mann also assured farmers that there would be no shortage of water during the paddy-sowing season and said the water level in the Bhakra reservoir was around 16 feet above the average. During his address, he conducted an informal survey, asking the crowd to raise their hands if they were receiving zero electricity bills or had obtained the state’s health insurance cards. He later asked the gathering whether it wanted the AAP government to return to power, drawing an enthusiastic response from the crowd. Before concluding, he recited his rhetorical “Kikli” targeting the Badal family.
AAP’s Punjab in-charge Manish Sisodia and state president Aman Arora were also present. However, AAP’s Bathinda Urban MLA Jagroop Singh Gill, who had defeated then Congress nominee Manpreet Singh Badal by 63,581 votes in the 2022 Assembly elections, was absent from the event. He had also skipped the Mayoral election on Thursday.
Speaking to The Tribune on Thursday, Gill said, “I am not invited to the roadshow, and I may skip it. However, I am still with the AAP, but have remained silent for some time.” Gill had termed Padamjeet’s victory a “murder of democracy”.
The senior AAP leaders’ roadshow here holds significance because Bathinda has traditionally been considered a stronghold of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal’s wife Harsimrat Kaur Badal is a fourth-term MP from Bathinda, which is considered the political capital of South Malwa.
