About 200 km from the national capital, residents of Siwani Mandi in Bhiwani district of Haryana are upbeat on AAP’s victory.
They have two reasons to celebrate: Arvind Kejriwal was born here and he becomes the fourth chief minister from the district after Bansi Lal, Banarsi Das Gupta and Master Hukam Singh.
Around 500 residents from Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal’s hometown have planned to attend the swearing-in ceremony scheduled to take place on February 14 at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi.
The Aggarwal community and AAP volunteers distributed sweets around the town with pro-Kejriwal slogans drumbeats in the background. Subhash Panwar, a local singer, sang in praise of Kejriwal’s 49 days as Delhi’s CM.
Exalted over AAP’s victory, Naresh Kedia, the Pardan of Nagar Parisad, said that he has been mobilizing people to participate in the ceremony. Kedia says Kejriwal is an icon of honesty in the town.
Deen Dayal Bansal, president of Siwan Anaj Mandi, said that last year around 200-250 people from here reached Ramlila grounds to witness Kejriwal’s swearing-in ceremony as Delhi’s chief minister. This time he expects the number to double.
Arvind Kejriwal was born in Siwani Mandi on August, 16 1968. After his primary education, Kejriwal moved to Hisar, said Girdhari Lal, Kejriwal’s uncle. “Arvind’s honesty and down-to-earth approach made him reach this position,” Lal said.
Lal said Kejriwal and his family came to Siwani Mandi on July 7, last year to attend condolence ceremony of a relative.
Ram Dulari, Kejriwal’s aunt said that they congratulated Geeta Devi, Arvind’s mother at around 11am for the unprecedented victory and they have been invited to attend oath ceremony. “We are proud to be associated with Delhi’s chief minister-in-waiting, not for his stature but for the faith people have on him,” said Nikki Bansal, Kejriwal’s cousin.
Arvind Kejriwal was born in Siwani Mandi on August, 16 1968. After his primary education, Kejriwal moved to Hisar, said Girdhari Lal, Kejriwal’s uncle. “Arvind’s honesty and down-to-earth approach made him reach this position,” Lal said.
Lal said Kejriwal and his family came to Siwani Mandi on July 7, last year to attend condolence ceremony of a relative.
Ram Dulari, Kejriwal’s aunt said that they congratulated Geeta Devi, Arvind’s mother at around 11am for the unprecedented victory and they have been invited to attend oath ceremony. “We are proud to be associated with Delhi’s chief minister-in-waiting, not for his stature but for the faith people have on him,” said Nikki Bansal, Kejriwal’s cousin.
Meanwhile, traders had been camping at his ancestral house since 6am. Jagdish Goyal, one of the them, said Siwani Mandi has 67 traders who are all proud of the ‘muffler man’.
“We anticipated AAP’s victory and got glued to television since 6am but no one including Arvind Kejriwal who was born in this Mandi, had thought of such an overwhelming majority,” said Ram Niwas, whose family has been a traditional voter of Indian National Lok Dal(INLD).