Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday called Bhupendra Patel a “puppet Chief Minister” of Gujarat who can not even appoint his peon.
Speaking at a campaign rally at Khambhalia in Devbhumi Dwarka district for the AAP's chief ministerial candidate Isudan Gadhvi, he also alleged that there is secret collusion between the BJP and Congress.
“There are two faces before the people of Gujarat. One is Isudan Gadhvi and the other is Bhupendra Patel. Who will you vote for, who will you make the Chief Minister?” Mr. Kejriwal asked.
Mr. Gadhvi is a young, educated man “whose heart beats for the poor” and he is also the son of a farmer, the Delhi Chief Minister said.
“When he hosted a show on TV, he raised the issues of farmers and did not indulge in tu-tu-main-main (noisy debates). He has worked for the farmers and dedicated his life for the farmers and unemployed youth,” Mr. Kejriwal said.
“On the other hand, there is Bhupendra Patel. He has no power, he is a kathputli (puppet) CM. He cannot even change his peon. He is a good man, he is not bad. I have heard that he is very religious. But nobody listens to him. He is a puppet CM,” the AAP leader said, asking the audience if they wanted a puppet CM or an educated CM.
Mr. Kejriwal also claimed that chairs were empty at Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s rally at Khambhalia on Monday. “People of Khambhalia did not attend his rally, and today thousands of people have come here... They are here to make their son, Isudan, the CM of Gujarat,” he said.
Earlier, people had no option even if they wanted to throw out the BJP, and the Congress is in cahoots with the ruling party from inside, Mr. Kejriwal claimed.
He compared the relationship between the BJP and Congress to that between a boy and a girl who meet secretly before marriage. “When you ask them, they will say there is nothing but friendship between them. Similarly, when you ask them (Congress and BJP), they will say there is nothing but friendship between us. I am telling them that this is enough, they are exposed now, and should get married. Everybody knows that you are a couple, so get married,” he said.
But now, there was a “real chance” to choose an alternative in the form of the AAP, Mr. Kejriwal added.
There was a wave in favour of his party in Gujarat, the Delhi Chief Minister claimed.
“I wonder how this happened, and then I close my eyes and bring my hands together and realise that it is being organised by some divine power,” he said, adding that his party has the blessings of “Lord Krishna and Devi”.
"It is written in the Gita that whenever the vessel of sins is full, God sweeps his broom," he said.
