Arvind Kejriwal, AAP brass likely to fight Lok Sabha polls to reap Delhi ‘dividend’

NEW DELHI: Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal and other party brass are likely to contest the LS election on an anti-corruption platform that hopes to ride on a perceived disenchantment with mainstream politics.

The electoral option appears with Kejriwal quitting as Delhi CM after accusing Congress and BJP of joining hands to defeat his attempt to bring the anti-corruption Jan Lokpal Bill to the assembly.

The decision to force Friday’s showdown in the assembly despite Lt Governor Najeeb Jung’s view that the legislation would need the Centre’s prior approval, has set the stage for AAP acting on its national ambitions.

Apart from Kejriwal, senior AAP leaders Manish Sisodia , Yogendra Yadav and Kumar Vishwas are likely to contest the LS poll to maximize the electoral dividend of “sacrificing” its government over the issue of corruption.

AAP held discussions even as Kejriwal in TV interviews criticized Jung’s decision not to recommend assembly dissolution and fresh polls, saying, “This shows Congress doesn’t want (simultaneous elections ). They fear losing.”

He hit out at Narendra Modi, raising questions on the 2002 riots, saying, “A Muslim in Gujarat is afraid that if he says anything against Modi , what will happen to him.”

Asked if he merely raised the bogey of corruption, the RTI activist-turned-politician said fear was good if it controlled corruption but not in the manner used by Modi.