Sunita Kejriwal, the wife of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, will be her husband’s voice and take his message to the masses, the party’s Delhi in-charge Gopal Rai said on Thursday.
Earlier this week, Ms. Kejriwal’s name featured on the list of the party’s star campaigners for Gujarat. The AAP chief was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on March 21 in connection with the Delhi excise policy case and is currently lodged in Tihar Jail. In his absence, Ms. Kejriwal has held four digital briefings in which she read out messages from her husband.
“Kejriwal has always been the party’s biggest star campaigner. In his absence, his wife will take his message and work to the people on the ground as she is in regular touch with him,” Mr. Rai told The Hindu.
Speaking on the alliance between Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc partners AAP and Congress in Delhi, Mr. Rai said that Mr. Kejriwal had instructed party workers to work towards winning all seven seats in the Capital and not focus only on the seats being fought by AAP. As part of their seat-sharing arrangement, AAP is contesting on four seats while the Congress is fighting on three.
Mr. Rai said the arrest of former Health Minister Satyendar Jain, former Deputy CM Manish Sisodia and the CM was the result of the BJP’s fear of losing Lok Sabha seats in Delhi.
“They first lost the Assembly election and then the municipal polls. After that, they got the Lieutenant-Governor to block the party’s works. Then, they arrested our leaders. When the city came out to protest against the CM’s arrest, they imposed prohibitory orders. They are doing this because they are scared and know that they cannot defeat Kejriwal,” he said.
Mr. Rai said the CM’s arrest had brought about a unique situation with regard to the functioning of the Delhi government.
“However, we have been working towards ensuring that no public work gets affected by it. Our party has always been surrounded by enemies who have tried to prevent us from discharging our duties. But we have a great record of delivering on our promises. We will come up with a solution for this situation, too,” Mr. Rai said.
