In Lok Sabha polls, AAP to focus on politician-business nexus

NEW DELHI: Freed of the responsibility to govern Delhi, AAP leaders have shifted their focus to the Lok Sabha elections. Party chief Arvind Kejriwal, who was busy with his duties as the capital’s chief minister till Friday, will now campaign for the national elections, starting with a rally in Rohtak, Haryana on February 23. However, he will be pitched as AAP’s CM candidate in Delhi, not its PM candidate, sources said.

Kejriwal himself said on Saturday he is not a PM claimant and is not sure whether he will contest the Lok Sabha elections. However, the party is clear that it is contesting the Lok Sabha polls under his leadership. “He will contest the Delhi assembly elections from the New Delhi seat but it remains to be seen whether he will stand for the Lok Sabha as well,” said a source.

After a meeting of AAP’s parliamentary affairs committee ( PAC) on Saturday, senior party member Yogendra Yadav said the government’s resignation was on principal and AAP will not compromise on the issue of corruption . He challenged BJP and Congress to come together as they did to prevent tabling of the Jan Lokpal Bill on Friday, and together provide a stable government.

While corruption will remain the party’s focus, it will also expose the nexus between politicians and corporate houses. “We will launch a targeted campaign against BJP’s Narendra Modi and Congress,” said Sanjay Singh, PAC member.

Kejriwal, who addressed the media at length for the first time since he took oath as CM, lashed out at Reliance Industries Limited chief Mukesh Ambani, accusing him of funding both Congress and BJP. “It is immaterial whether Congress or BJP wins the Lok Sabha elections because eventually Ambani will run the country through them. When we filed an FIR against him in the gas scam, the Centre approached the Supreme Court to quash the FIR and BJP remained quiet on it. Isn’t the collusion evident?”

On Saturday, the party launched its nation-wide anticorruption campaign ‘Jhadu Chalao Yatra’ . Party leader Gopal Rai said around 2,500 rallies will be organized in 332 Lok Sabha seats across 24 states in the next 10 days.