Delhi Chief Minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal launched a campaign on Saturday to select the party’s chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming Gujarat Assembly elections, similar to the one it had carried out in Punjab, in which Bhagwant Mann had emerged as the people’s choice for the candidature.
The AAP chief issued a phone number – 635 7000 360 – for residents to SMS/WhatsApp their preference for the party’s CM face. The party has also established an email address, aapnocm@gmail.com.
The phone number will be operational until 5 p.m. on November 3, after which the party will announce its chief ministerial candidate for the Gujarat elections on November 4.
“We want Gujaratians to vote on who should be the next chief minister. We are issuing a phone number and an email address. You have until 5 p.m. on November 3 to submit your comments. On November 4, we will announce the outcome,” said Kejriwal in Surat.
Elections to the 182-member Gujarat Legislative Assembly are scheduled for the end of the year. The polling schedule, however, has yet to be announced.
The AAP has established itself as the main challenger to the ruling BJP in the state, and its leader, Arvind Kejriwal, has been aggressively campaigning in the state, holding rallies and town halls and making a slew of pre-election promises of free electricity, better education, and healthcare facilities.
Similar Approach as Punjab
Before the Punjab assembly elections were held this year, AAP in January had declared former stand-up comic Bhagwant Mann as its candidate for Punjab Chief Minister, based on 93% of 21 lakh responses in a reality show-style telephone poll in which Congress President Navjot Singh Sidhu received the second most votes.
“For months, people have been asking me, ‘Who is the groom?’ I’d tell them that we’ll give them a face they’ll be proud of. We had decided to poll 3 crore Punjabis on their preferences,” AAP chief and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal had said.
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