Nobody can break Delhi CM, wife Sunita says as she begins city campaign

Nobody can break Delhi CM, wife Sunita says as she begins city campaign

NEW DELHI: “Aapke mukhyamantri sher hain… unhe koi jhuka nahi sakta, unhe koi tod nahi sakta… (Your chief minister is a lion… no one can make him bend or break him),” said Sunita, wife of jailed chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, while exhorting voters of Kalyanpuri, a resettlement colony in East Delhi, to vote in large numbers to ensure the defeat of “dictatorship” and to restore “democracy” in the country in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in the city.

Participating in her first roadshow to campaign for AAP in Delhi on Saturday, Sunita, dressed in a green salwar-kameez, went through the streets of the colony in an SUV with a poster saying “I love Kejriwal” in the background.

AAP’s star campaigner attracted a large number of people, who lined up a 1km stretch of a narrow road in the densely populated locality. Though new to politics, Sunita Kejriwal spoke like a seasoned politician, weighing her words carefully and not opening a tirade against BJP or its leaders.

Sunita has already made a few public appearances since the CM was arrested on March 21. She addressed an INDIA rally at Ramlila Maidan on March 31 and also spoke at the alliance’s rally in Ranchi on April 21, apart from making a few media appearances.

Party sources said her roadshows in Delhi and campaign in Punjab, Gujarat and Haryana are being carefully planned to make her a popular and acceptable face in absence of Arvind Kejriwal, who is currently lodged in Tihar.

Though she spoke briefly (3-4 mins each) at three spots during her roadshow, Sunita did not name PM Modi or any other leader even once, unlike her husband who is known to go all out against his opponents. She did not even talk about INDIA and only exhorted people to beat the “fascist” regime. “Jail ka jawab vote se,” she said.

Attempting to strike an emotional chord with the residents, Sunita kept referring to Arvind Kejriwal as “aapke mukhyamantri aur mere pati (your CM and my husband)”. She said, “Arvind Kejriwal was being forcibly kept in jail for the past one month. No court has declared him guilty and investigations are still going on.”

She asked if the CM would be kept behind bars even if investigations go on for the next 10 years. “This is gundagardi (hooliganism) and tanashahi (dictatorship),” she said amidst slogans of “tanashahi karne wali party ko chot denge (we will hurt this fascist regime)”.

Talking about her husband’s health, Sunita said that he has been suffering from diabetes for the past 22 years and he has been taking insulin for the past 12 years. “Every day he takes insulin but it has been stopped in the jail. Are they trying to kill Kejriwal?” she asked.

“Arvind Kejriwal was jailed because he provided free electricity, built schools, gave free bus travel and opened mohalla clinics and now he will give Rs 1,000 to women every month,” she said.

AAP workers carried placards with messages saying, “My first vote will go to save the Constitution with #democracy and #Kejriwal; Power under the Constitution will always be with the people”.

The party’s campaign song, “Vote denge gundagardi ke khilaf/Kejriwal ko vote denge … tanashahi karne wali party ko hum chot denge… vote denge…”, played throughout the roadshow.

As AAP and Congress are contesting the Lok Sabha elections in Delhi together, the East Delhi seat is being contested by AAP and its candidate Kuldeep Kumar, the sitting MLA from Kondli, appealed to people to vote and prove that no one can eliminate the party. “Vote for Kejriwal and fight against dictatorship,” he appealed.

Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said that the unity of INDIA was exposed in the absence of the representation of AAP’s coalition partner, Congress, in the roadshow.

“Delhi Congress president Arvinder Singh Lovely, former MP Sandeep Dikshit and former state unit chief Anil Chaudhary are active in East Delhi politics, but they maintained their distance from Sunita Kejriwal’s event. It shows the alliance is limited to just a seat-sharing arrangement and Congress functionaries do not want their supporters to come in contact with AAP MLAs and MP candidates,” Kapoor said.

Ahead of Sunita Kejriwal’s roadshow, Delhi minister Atishi said that the people of Delhi love Arvind Kejriwal and his wife will seek blessings for him.

Sunita will hold her second roadshow on Sunday, including one in West Delhi constituency on Sunday.

“Kejriwal has provided what we require and our vote is for him only,” said 66-year-old Vijay Laxmi, who has lived in Kondli for the past three decades

Imran Khan (40), who runs a paneer shop in the area, supports AAP. He said, “BJP only imposes taxes on everything and for them our community doesn’t exist. Whatever they promise, they never fulfil it, so for us AAP is the best option. They provide the basic amenities that a common citizen needs.”

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