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Delhi Assembly Elections 2020| Family by side, Kejriwal launches first roadshow
Kejriwal was to file his nomination papers after the roadshow. But he could not do so as the rally stretched beyond 3pm – the daily deadline for filing papers with the magistrate’s office.
Over a thousand supporters of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Monday participated in a roadshow led by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in New Delhi assembly constituency, the seat from which Kejriwal will contest the February 8 assembly elections.
Kejriwal was to file his nomination papers after the roadshow. But he could not do so as the rally stretched beyond 3pm – the daily deadline for filing papers with the magistrate’s office.
Kejriwal said, “I am touched by the support of the people. I could not leave the roadshow today. That’s fine, I will file my nomination papers tomorrow (Tuesday),” Kejriwal, who is also the AAP’s national convener, said. He was accompanied by his wife, son, daughter and deputy Manish Sisodia on the back of a mini-truck.
This was the first such roadshow led by Kejriwal in the run-up to the assembly polls in Delhi. Kejriwal has addressed seven town halls and he is likely to address seven more after Thursday. Senior AAP leaders said Kejriwal will be leading more roadshows in the last phase of the party’s poll campaign.
Kejriwal started his poll rally from the Valmiki Mandir in Delhi’s Mandir Marg — a tradition he started with his first election in 2013. The roadshow started around 12.30pm, and surrounded by AAP supporters, the motorcade made its way through the heart of Connaught Place to reach the traffic intersection of Patel Chowk by 3.30pm.
“The AAP has done a lot of development work in the past five years. This roadshow will help people recall those benefits,” Lal Ratan Kumar, an AAP supporter from north-west Delhi’s Bawana assembly constituency, said.
Akhilesh Sharma, a supporter from south Delhi’s Badarpur, said, “When it comes to politics of good governance and welfare, the AAP does not have any competition in Delhi. The contest this time is clear.”
The roadshow saw the participation of several sitting MLAs, new recruits from other parties as well as the fresh faces on the AAP’s candidates’ list this year. Ram Singh Netaji, Raghav Chadha and Gopal Rai were among those who accompanied Kejriwal.
The roadshow comprised several trucks and mini-trucks with hundreds of supporters walking alongside, carrying posters, placards and brooms — the party’s election symbol.
Loudspeakers played the party’s poll campaign song, ‘Lage Raho Kejriwal’, and the sloganeering was occasionally interrupted by dance performances on roads that were temporarily cleared of traffic by the police.
The performances drew spectators from the commercial buildings that dot the busy stretches in the assembly segment. Hundreds of people could be seen gazing from windows and terraces of the colonial-era corridors of Connaught Place, which is now a hub of showrooms and restaurants.
“I have never seen a political rally before. I could not imagine that the first experience would be so entertaining,” Geeta Dayal, a business management student from a south Delhi neighbourhood, said.
