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Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia sitting on the stage during the swearing-in of Bhagwant Mann.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), aspiring to establish a foothold in national politics, will not make BJP opponents crutches. They don’t need any third front of smaller parties to compete with BJP and Congress. On Tuesday, from the soil of Punjab, AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal made it clear that he will follow the path of ‘Ekla Chalo Re’. After Delhi, AAP government was formed in Punjab. Bhagwant Mann took oath as CM on Tuesday.
However, no anti-BJP leader was invited in it. It was expected that Bengal CM Mamta Banerjee could come here. This experiment of Kejriwal has been successful in Punjab itself. When he refused to bow down to a pre-poll pact with the peasant leaders.
Arvind Kejriwal and CM Bhagwant Mann with Governor BL Purohit after taking oath
How Kejriwal tackled the biggest challenge of farmers in Punjab
Kejriwal’s biggest challenge in the Punjab elections was the farmers’ organisations, which returned after bowing down to the central government on agricultural laws. When 22 of them contested the elections, they got their deposits forfeited. The big reason for this is Kejriwal’s politics. In fact, the farmers kept placing the condition in front of AAP for the alliance but Kejriwal did not agree. He publicly said that farmers’ organizations are asking for more seats, while we have given candidates there. This sent a direct message to the Punjabis that the peasant leaders were taking political advantage of the movement. He has become greedy for power.
Kejriwal’s political ‘weapon’ became public anger over traditional parties
Arvind Kejriwal is engaged in a new type of politics. He is making the anger of the common man a political weapon. There was not as much support in favor of AAP in Punjab as there was anger against Akali Dal and Congress. Kejriwal started such a wave of change from this that he was given ‘one chance’ by the Punjabis. This experiment was successful. Now Kejriwal will be seen campaigning in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh through this political weapon.
The politics of Gandhi’s name came to Shaheed Bhagat Singh
Congress and BJP have been doing politics in the name of Mahatma Gandhi in the country. Even if no one accepts this, but Gandhi has often been at the center of politics. Aam Aadmi Party changed this in Punjab. Here the whole politics was focused on Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh. This is important because the ideologies of Gandhi and Bhagat Singh were completely opposite to each other in the fight to liberate the country. Bhagat Singh is very popular among the youth, which AAP is cashing in.
Bhagwant Mann also did branding
Bhagwant Mann, who became the new CM of Punjab, did not miss the opportunity of branding Arvind Kejriwal. After taking oath, he said that Kejriwal formed the party after starving for 20 days. Coming out of the movement came into politics. Mann especially applauded Kejriwal so that its message through the media reaches all those people in the country who are watching his program.
You have said leader – becoming a national alternative
The ambition of Aam Aadmi Party leaders to become a national alternative is not hidden from anyone. AAP leader Raghav Chadha had expressed this openly after winning 92 out of 117 seats in Punjab. He said that AAP will now become an alternative to Congress in the country. How much strength is required to become a national party, Kejriwal has already guessed it by contesting against Bhagwant Mann from Banaras in 2014.