Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal is all set to take on BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi in the latter’s stronghold by addressing a rally at Bapunagar in Ahmedabad on Saturday. The labour-dominated area has a sizable population of North Indians and Saurashtrians.
AAP Gujarat convener Sukhdev Patel told The Hindu on Monday the former Delhi Chief Minister would reach the State on Wednesday and meet party workers. Mr. Kejriwal would visit Gandhi Ashram in Sabarmati. He would hold a series of meetings with the AAP’s State leadership and decide on Lok Sabha candidates. The party had announced Atul Shekhda’s candidature from the Junagadh constituency in Saurashtra.
A team of AAP workers had been drafted to find holes in Mr. Modi’s Gujarat model of development, Mr. Patel said.
Recently retired IAS officials S.R. Rao and S. Jagadeesan and IPS officer Kuldeep Sharma are in the reckoning to contest on AAP ticket from Surat, Rajkot and Gandhinagar respectively.
Mr. Rao was posted as Municipal Commissioner of Surat after the 1994 plague outbreak. He not only improved the situation but also ensured that a system was in place to make Surat the best city in Gujarat.
Mr. Jagadeesan brought about similar changes in Rajkot when he was Collector.
Mr. Sharma is known for being a no-nonsense police officer.
