Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said the BJP had divided Haryana along caste lines over the past five years, pitting “brother against brother” and ruining the harmonious coexistence of 36 communities that the State was known for.
Mr. Kejriwal was addressing a gathering in Karnal during a day-long roadshow with Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) leader Dushyant Chautala in support of the alliance’s candidate for the seat Krishan Kumar Agarwal.
Starting from the Delhi-Sonipat border in the morning, the two leaders travelled across three Lok Sabha constituencies: Sonipat, Karnal and Kurukshetra. They addressed gatherings at several points.
Mr. Kejriwal said that the people of Haryana had voted BJP Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar into power hoping that he would make good losses caused by the previous Congress government, “but he engineered riots”. Mr. Kejriwal said that while the AAP government in Delhi was working to improve government schools and hospitals, providing round-the-clock free electricity and water to Delhiites, Haryana was burning in the fire of violence due to riots.
He exhorted the people to vote for Mr. Agarwal, and for better facilities like Delhi. “We will improve the lot of Haryana, like we have done in Delhi,” said Mr. Kejriwal. He said that AAP and the JJP had come together as they shared the dreams of the people and wanted to fulfil their aspirations.
Addressing the crowd at several stops along the route, Mr. Chautala said the alliance had come with “Buy one, Get one” scheme for the people of Haryana since “Mr. Khattar will be dethroned on his own if you vote [Narendra] Modi out of power”.
AAP Haryana chief Naveen Jaihind, who he contesting from Faridabad, said only the alliance could challenge and defeat the BJP in the State. He said that his party alone had given ticket to a man belonging to the trader community.
In Sonipat, JJP student wing leader and Dushyant’s younger brother Digvijay Singh Chautala is involved in a prestige battle with former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda and BJP’s Ramesh Chander Kaushik. Similarly, former Zila Parishad member Jai Bhagwan Sharma alias D.D. Sharma is JJP’s candidate for Kurukshetra. He has been pitted against BJP’s Nayab Singh Saini and Congress’s Nirmal Singh.
