“Arvind Kejriwal and I are jail-bhai; I have been to the place where he currently is and I am facing the same forces he is.”Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar, the INDIA bloc candidate for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, put his rhetorical skills to full use as he addressed a meeting of the coordination committee of the alliance in Northeast Delhi constituency on Thursday.“I have the experience of heading andolans (movements), of going to jail but I have no experience of contesting elections in Delhi. I have a doctorate degree but those sitting here are the doctors of politics and I want to use their experience to help me win,” he told the gathering.
With leaders of both sides, Congress and the AAP, coming together on the same stage, the agenda was clear: To rally their workers and emphasise on the importance of reaching out to every person in the constituency, especially with the elections looming just 15 days away.
Kumar’s main opponent in the constituency, Manoj Tiwari, started his election campaign a week after his candidature was announced on March 2. He has been holding 10 mega public meetings daily and as many closed-door meetings and house visits along with two early morning padyatras. Besides, Mandals of 250 party workers have been formed, which carry out their own padyatras to campaign for him. Kumar, whose campaign was announced on April 15, has so far not officially started his campaign trail. During the meeting, Kumar personally met each and every party worker and urged them to put in all their might in reaching out to voters, giving them assurances on his behalf.
Party leaders emphasised the need for vigorous campaigning. Former AAP MLA Sarita Singh highlighted the importance of gathering support from those who will vote against the BJP.
Chaudhary Mateen Ahmed, former MLA from Seelampur, emphasized unity between the party workers. Abdul Rehman, the current AAP MLA from Seelampur, urged mobilization of the Muslim voter base. Congress’ head of Coordination Committee, Subhash Chopra said, “it should be our resolve that we will go to every Gali, every locality and meet everyone. He is our son, our voice, the country’s pride and we need to ensure that we make him win with majority votes…” AAP Burari MLA Sanjeev Jha said, “This is not the time to stand on a stage and give speeches, it’s time to work and to connect with people.”
He also urged party workers to get to know about the issues being faced by residents. “Those who used to call me ‘tukde-tukde gang’ are the ones breaking people’s houses and dreams…” he said.