Amid drumbeats and speakers playing “ Lage Raho Kejriwal ”, Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal and the party’s Kalkaji candidate Atishi took out a roadshow in the constituency on Thursday.
Thousands of supporters welcomed the leaders by showering rose petals on them. The roadshow, which started from Gurdwara Baba Banda Singh Bahadur in Kalkaji at 5.45 p.m., ended an hour later at C. Lal Chowk. Mr. Kejriwal and Ms. Atishi waved at their supporters from their open jeep but none of them gave speeches.
Before the roadshow, when asked about what are the issues she is focusing on, Ms. Atishi told The Hindu , “I will focus on traffic, providing basic facilities in slums and building more schools.”
‘Solutions for all’
After the roadshow, when she addressed the media, she said: “Kalkaji is a mini Delhi. There are rich people here and also people who live in kachhi colony and jhuggis. Our party’s speciality is that it works for people from all sections — for instance, we take care of traffic issues near posh colonies or solve problems of water and sewer in kachhi colonies and jhuggis,” she said, adding that response from the people has been “extremely positive”.
Many people said they will vote for Mr. Kejriwal even though they did not know the local candidate. Talking about the roadshow, they said it was the first major election rally in the area.
Mukesh Yadav (45), chips and cigarette seller in C. Lal Chowk, is originally from UP and has been a Delhi resident for past 20 years. He claimed that while schools in the city have become better, the work done by the sitting MLA from the constituency – Avtar Singh – has not been enough
Delhiites on schools
“My daughter studies in Class XI in a government school in Nehru place. The teachers are better now,” he said, adding that the school has improved in many ways more than one.
However, Mr. Yadav, who had voted for AAP in the 2015 Assembly election, said the party had promised to make their shops permanent but it is yet to happen.
Two women — Asha (43) and Suman Joshi (51) — who were out to buy vegetables at that time said things are almost the same but their electricity and water bills are less.
“The government hospitals have improved by 50%...they are cleaner and also have more medicines. But more work is needed,” said Ms. Asha from Govindpuri.
Mr. Kejriwal, who the party said will cover 60 constituencies through roadshows, held a rally in Tughlakabad in the evening and in Matia Mahal, Uttam Nagar and Vikas Puri in the morning. He will also hold eight town hall sessions.
Delhi Assembly polls is scheduled for February 8 and the counting of votes will take place on February 11.
