INDIA is on track for 300, BJP to lose polls: Kejriwal

Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal addressed a press conference days before Delhi’s all seven Lok Sabha seats are due to go to the polls on May 25

Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday cited some surveys and claimed that the INDIA bloc would win at least 300 of the 543 Lok Sabha seats and form the next government.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. (PTI)

“The fifth phase of polling is over. As different phases of elections are over, it has become clear that on June 4 [counting day], the INDIA bloc will form the government,” he said in an online press conference. “The findings of many surveys indicate that on June 4, the INDIA bloc is going to get over 300 seats,” he added.

Elections for 428 of the 543 seats are over, and the remaining seats will go to polls on May 25 and June 1. Kejriwal did not specify which surveys he was referring to.

Later in the day, Kejriwal campaigned for Congress candidate from North East Delhi, Kanhaiya Kumar, in Bhajanpura. He attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over inflation and unemployment, saying that instead of addressing these issues, the PM is busy putting people in jail.

Addressing the crowd after a 45-minute roadshow through Bhajanpura’s main market, Kejriwal accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of sending him, former deputy CM Manish Sisodia, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh and former AAP minister Satyendar Jain to jail. He added that his aide Bibhav Kumar was also arrested two days ago, and that the BJP is now planning to arrest Delhi ministers Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj.

“Humne pradhan mantri chuna tha, thanedaar thode na chuna tha (we had elected a prime minister, not a police station in-charge). The cases are completely fake. They are saying that a scam of over ₹100 crore took place. They conducted over 500 raids, but could not recover a penny,” Kejriwal said.

“The people are suffering from inflation, he should be working to bring down the prices of fuel, milk... that will show his ‘badappan’ (generosity). His morning starts with plans to put people in jail. This does not suit the PM,” said Kejriwal.

He was referring to the arrest of Kumar on the basis of a police complaint filed by party Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal, who has accused him of assault. To be sure, the AAP has rejected the charges and called it a conspiracy.

It was Kejriwal’s first campaign in North East Delhi. Under its alliance with the Congress, the AAP is contesting four seats in the Capital — New Delhi, East Delhi, West Delhi, South Delhi — and the Congress is contesting three — North East Delhi, Chandni Chowk and North West Delhi.

Kejriwal said he missed the people of Delhi in jail and alleged that despite the PM trying hard to keep him in jail, he came out due to the blessings of Lord Hanuman. “By sending me to jail, he (Modi) wants to shut schools, mohalla clinics and discontinue other welfare measures taken by us,” he said.

“INDIA alliance will form the next government on June 4,” Kejriwal said. He introduced Kanhaiya Kumar to the crowd and appealed to them to vote for him on May 25.

His comments came on a day when Mallikarjun Kharge , the chief of the Congress which is also part of the INDIA bloc, made similar claims, and both PM Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah declared that the BJP had already secured a majority after five phases of polling. Shah said the party’s tally stands at 310.

The BJP swept the Lok Sabha polls in Delhi in 2014 and 2019, winning all seven seats.

Top leaders including Modi, Shah, Yogi Adityanath (BJP), Kejriwal, and Rahul Gandhi (Congress) have campaigned in the Capital where electioneering is scheduled to end on May 23. On Tuesday, Kejriwal also reacted to comments made by Shah and Yogi Adityanath who separately campaigned in Delhi on Monday.

Kejriwal alleged the number of people who attended Shah’s rally was less than 500. “He (Shah) said the supporters of the AAP are Pakistanis. I want to tell him that the people of Delhi have given us 62 seats (and) 56 % vote share. Are the people of Delhi Pakistanis? The people of Punjab have given us 92 out of 117 seats. Are the people of Punjab Pakistanis? The people of Gujarat gave us 14 % votes. Are the people of Gujarat also Pakistanis? The people of Goa gave us love (and) trust. Are the people of Goa also Pakistanis?” Kejriwal questioned.

Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva said, “Thousands gathered to listen to the home minister. Kejriwal’s character is to lie. We are just asking him to break his silence over the Swati Maliwal assault case. He should speak at least once for the honour of Maliwal who is a Rajya Sabha MP of his party.”