Under the blazing midmorning sun, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday crisscrossed Chickballapur Lok Sabha constituency where he took on Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas M. Veerappa Moily on his home turf.
Mr. Kejriwal started his campaign in an open jeep where he was greeted by young volunteers and residents.
“The MP you elected has passed an order to increase the gas prices which will be effective from April 1,” he told them. Lashing out at Mr. Moily, he said it would increase the cost of living for the common man.
It should be noted that as Delhi Chief Minister Mr. Kejriwal filed an FIR against Mr. Moily, the former Minister Murli Deora and Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) chairman Mukesh Ambani charging them with collusion in fixing natural gas prices and hoarding in the KG basin -D6 basin.
Introducing the former Inspector-General of CRPF K. Arkesh, the AAP candidate for Chickaballapur, he posed a question to the public: “Will you vote for a corrupt politician or an honest police officer who was instrumental in fighting against slain forest brigand Veerappan?”
Mr. Kejriwal switched between the open jeep and an air-conditioned car as he travelled the Doddaballapur–Chickballapur stretch of the national highway. More than a dozen cars and motorcycles from Bangalore with volunteers, who were sporting the AAP ‘topi’ and armed with brooms (the AAP symbol) and banners, accompanied him and distributed topis and pamphlets.
Some residents that The Hindu spoke to dismissed the AAP as a “Delhi party” and some curious residents who came out to watch him were unable to identify who he was
However, Mr. Kejriwal, who tried to woo the local people, even wore the Mysore peta and sported the Karnataka flag on his shoulder.
Later, Mr. Kejriwal addressed a rally at Freedom Park where he listed out the “corrupt” candidates in Karnataka. He added that the people were “tired of both BJP and the Congress”.
