Ahead of Gujarat polls, Arvind Kejriwal promises 24x7 power supply, jobs

Last month, Arvind Kejriwal had promised that his party will provide free electricity up to 300 units per month if voted to power in Gujarat.

Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said if his party comes to power in Gujarat in the coming Assembly elections it will ensure a round-the-clock power supply in the state and waive off the bills from the previous year.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal receives a warm welcome upon his arrival at Jamnagar airport on Saturday. (ANI)

Kejriwal arrived in BJP-ruled Gujarat, where elections are due by year-end, for a two-day visit on Saturday.

Last month, Kejriwal had promised that his party will provide free electricity up to 300 units per month if voted to power in Gujarat. He also said power dues up to December 2021 will be waived off if AAP is voted to power in the state where the BJP has been in power since 1998. The free electricity scheme will be implemented in Gujarat within three months after the assembly elections, he promised.

Giving examples of the AAP government's work in the power sector in Delhi and Punjab, Kejriwal on Sunday said, “Our first promise is regarding power supply. People in Gujarat are in misery. The bills are too high. We have made power supply free in Delhi. 25 lakh households in Punjab have just recently got zero electricity bills.”

“Soon, a total of Punjab 51 lakh households would get just zero bills. We would also ensure a round-the-clock power supply here in Gujarat. We would also waive off the bills from the previous year,” he said at a press conference in the poll-bound state.

According to the Delhi chief minister, the youths in Gujarat rue the lack of livelihoods. “In just a few years, we have provided employment to 12 lakh youths in Delhi. We would also provide employment to the unemployed here. And until that happens, the unemployed would be on the dole of ₹3,000 per month,” Kejriwal said.

On Saturday, Kejriwal had said an "advisory body" of traders will be formed to guide the government if the AAP wins the elections. The Delhi chief minister also promised sops related to Value Added Tax (VAT) and said the party's government would stop the "raid raj", as he met a group of traders here.

“I am not here to seek donations, I do not need donations. I am here to make traders and industrialists partners in the development of Gujarat,” he said.

"You will be treated as partners when the AAP forms a government here. You will give the order and the government will implement that order," he added.

As part of his "guarantees" to the trader community, Kejriwal said the AAP will form an "advisory body" to guide the government if it came to power.

The other "guarantees" of the AAP included a commitment to do away with "atmosphere of fear" among the business community and treat them with respect, he said. An AAP government in Gujarat will put an end to the "raid raj" or harassment of traders and businesspersons by government and tax officials, he said.

On the criticism of ‘revadi culture’ or distribution of freebies to win elections, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi had recently flagged as a dangerous trend, Kejriwal asked what was wrong if his government in Delhi provided free education and healthcare to the poor. As to the free electricity scheme in Delhi and Punjab, he claimed that the cost was recovered by increasing the revenue substantially.

(With inputs from agencies)