Ahmedabad:
Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener Arvind Kejriwal launched a campaign in Gujarat on Saturday to choose the party’s chief ministerial face for the upcoming assembly polls.
The move is similar to what the AAP had done in Punjab ahead of state elections, when it conducted a survey and Bhagwant Singh Mann emerged as the popular choice. Mann became chief minister after the party swept the polls.
“The atmosphere in Gujarat is signalling that AAP is going to form the government. We want to ask the people of Gujarat who should be the next chief minister, and for that, we are issuing a contact number and email ID where people can send suggestions,” Kejriwal said at a media briefing in Surat.
The results of the survey will be made public on November 4, when the party will name its chief ministerial face, he said, while criticising the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party for not reaching out to the masses before taking a decision of changing their chief ministers.
“The BJP changed its chief minister in Gujarat about a year ago. Earlier, Vijay Rupani was chief minister, but he was replaced with Bhupendra Patel, the current chief minster. Why did they do this? Do you believe that there was something wrong with Vijay Rupani? We don’t know if he was removed because he did anything wrong, or because he was not eligible,” Kejriwal said. “The public’s opinion was not sought when Rupani was made chief minister in 2016, nor were they consulted when he was replaced. These people did not even ask whether Patel should be made chief minister or someone else should be given that chance.”
{{/usCountry}}“The BJP changed its chief minister in Gujarat about a year ago. Earlier, Vijay Rupani was chief minister, but he was replaced with Bhupendra Patel, the current chief minster. Why did they do this? Do you believe that there was something wrong with Vijay Rupani? We don’t know if he was removed because he did anything wrong, or because he was not eligible,” Kejriwal said. “The public’s opinion was not sought when Rupani was made chief minister in 2016, nor were they consulted when he was replaced. These people did not even ask whether Patel should be made chief minister or someone else should be given that chance.”
{{/usCountry}}The AAP chooses chief ministers after consulting with the people, he said.
“When elections were held in Punjab, we asked the people who they wanted as their chief minister. They supported Bhagwant Mann with a huge majority. When our government was formed, we made Mann chief minister of Punjab, according to the wishes of the people,” Kejriwal said.
“It is not of much significance how or who the AAP chooses as their CM candidate for Gujarat elections because forget winning, they will not be able to win a single seat in the upcoming elections,” Gujarat BJP spokesperson Yamal Vyas said. “All these are mere publicity stunts.”