Arvind Kejriwal in Chandigarh: AAP’s civic poll success sent ‘strong message’, will return after wining Punjab
Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal said during the party’s victory march Thursday that the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation polls has sent a “strong message” across Punjab ahead of the assembly polls in the state next year.
AAP won 14 of the 35 municipal wards in the recent Chandigarh civic polls. The BJP won 12, Congress eight and the Akali Dal 1.
“After the Chandigarh results, a wave has been felt throughout Punjab… Now we will come to Chandigarh for oath-taking after winning Punjab (elections),” said Kejriwal during the victory march that began from Sector 22 Aroma light point.
Kejriwal made the newly elected councillors take an oath that they would “never take any bribe” and also not “let anyone do anything wrong”. He promised to take Chandigarh to number 1 from 66 in the Swachh Survekshan cleanliness rankings.
Kejriwal began the address by saying: “People of Chandigarh, you have brought about a miracle. With the results, everyone has realised that the parties sitting here for over 100 years can be defeated.”
“Politics is for when elections are around. Now, the time for politics is over. Now, those elected from the BJP or Congress are also ours. We will work so much for people who voted for Congress or the BJP that the next time, they would vote for us,” said Kejriwal.
“After looking at our Delhi model, you people have given us an opportunity and voted us here in Chandigarh, it is highly appreciable. And now we will work to such an extent that after looking at Chandigarh, people of other parts of the country will vote for us,” added Kejriwal.
“We have to make Chandigarh city beautiful again. Its roads, schools, hospitals everything has to be improved,” he said.
He wanted the councillors to sign an oath and distribute it to residents of their respective wards. “The trust Chandigarh people have placed in me, I won’t let it break. I will work for the people and serve them to the fullest. I will never take any bribe. Neither will I do anything wrong nor will I let anyone else also do anything wrong,” the oath read.
Meanwhile, AAP leader from Punjab Bhagwant Mann stated that the people of Chandigarh have written history. “Chandigarh people, you have written a history that elections can’t be won through hatred or caste (equations). They are won on merit. The way our common men have defeated big leaders of the BJP in Chandigarh, it so telling. To get Chandigarh to number 1 from the 66 in the cleanliness ranking is our first priority,” Mann said.
Bhagwant Mann added that the AAP volunteers, party workers are the kingmakers. “And kingmakers are always bigger than the king himself,” Mann added.
“We won Delhi, the (national) capital, and now we have won Punjab’s capital Chandigarh. And now we will win Punjab,” he said.
AAP leaders Harmohan Dhawan, Chandermukhi Sharma, Pardeep Chhabra and Raghav Chadha were also present during the victory rally, attended by scores of AAP supporters.
