Farmers Movement Archive

Arvind Kejriwal's Punjab visit begins today; 'big announcements' expected

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal will begin his two-day visit to Punjab from Ludhiana on Wednesday. The party said on Tuesday that Kejriwal will make "big" announcements" during the visit, which comes just few months ahead of the assembly elections in the states.Kejriwal will hold a meeting with traders in Ludhiana on the first day of his visit, according to AAP. He will hold a press conference on September 30, where AAP national convener will make big announcements, the party said on Twitter on Tuesday.Assembly elections in Punjab are due early next year.Kejriwal's visit comes at a time of turmoil within the ruling Congress party in Punjab. Political observers say the party is sniffing an opportunity as Congress tries to douse the fire within the state unit and present a united face for the state polls.Reacting to Navjot Sidhu's resignation as chief of the state unit, AAP's Punjab president Bhagwant Mann accused the Congress of “insulting” the state and its people in their “fight for the chair”.AAP too has faced internal conflicts for the last two years in its Punjab unit, but is now expecting to see some discontented leaders jump the ship to join its ranks. The party's leaders and their campaign speeches have been highlighting the shortcomings in the rule of both Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and are asking the people of the state to give them a chance.Some AAP leaders, like Kotkapura MLA Kultar Singh Sandhwan, says that the party has been receiving good response from the people in Punjab who have visited the farmers' protest sites at Delhi border and seen the work done by AAP government there.AAP won 20 seats to become the principal opposition party in Punjab in 2017, but is now banking on its 'Delhi model' of governance and promise of freebies to emerge on top. Like other states, AAP aims to make high electricity rates in Punjab as one of the focus areas of its Punjab campaign.Kejriwal has already made a populist pitch by "guaranteeing" 300 units of free power for residential consumers, waiver of pending bills and round-the-clock supply if his party comes to power in the state.A "second guarantee" is expected to be made by Kejriwal during his latest visit to the state; however, the poll promise has been not been disclosed as yet.AAP also faces a big question about a chief ministerial face. Pressure is building on the leadership from within the party, including several MLAs and workers, to declare state chief Bhagwant Mann’s name. Kejriwal had, on June 21, announced in Amritsar that the CM candidate will be from the Sikh community.

Hindustan Times

29-09-2021

India