After the urban electorate of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal appears to be targeting specific pockets of the rural electorate which have been at odds with the ruling government in every state.
After the farmers of Mandal-Becharaji and fisherfolk of Bhadreshwar in Gujarat who had taken on Narendra Modi, on Sunday, Kejriwal spoke to the farmers of Mathura who had revolted against the erstwhile Mayawati government over land acquisition. But even there, it was clear his fire was more against Modi than the UPA government.
‘Development needs to be in full view of masses and cannot be hidden in statistics. We took a four day trip to Gujarat and came across reality,” Kejriwal said.
“There were black flags hurled at us and when we asked why, they said why we were opposing Modi. Later, they admitted they had received compensation for land acquired but could not get jobs promised and once convinced, they got ready to support us,” Kejriwal said.
But Kejriwal’s trashing of the Gujarat government fell rather flat after a video featuring AAP leader Yogendra Yadav praising Gujarat’s progress went viral on YouTube on Sunday. The video, a clip from CNBC TV18 channel’s programme, recorded prior to Yadav joining AAP, showed the psephologist-turned-Gurgaon candidate quoting a Congress sarpanch from Gujarat praising the availability of electricity, water and roads. “If you try and gather the truth at ground level, for ordinary people, the experience has improved somewhat,” Yadav says. “Check the entire interview before coming to conclusions. Selected clips can create false impression,” Yadav told HT.
{{/usCountry}}But Kejriwal’s trashing of the Gujarat government fell rather flat after a video featuring AAP leader Yogendra Yadav praising Gujarat’s progress went viral on YouTube on Sunday. The video, a clip from CNBC TV18 channel’s programme, recorded prior to Yadav joining AAP, showed the psephologist-turned-Gurgaon candidate quoting a Congress sarpanch from Gujarat praising the availability of electricity, water and roads. “If you try and gather the truth at ground level, for ordinary people, the experience has improved somewhat,” Yadav says. “Check the entire interview before coming to conclusions. Selected clips can create false impression,” Yadav told HT.
{{/usCountry}}(With inputs from Nivedita Khandekar in New Delhi)