Ahmedabad: With just four days to go for the first phase of Dec 1 Gujarat election, Aam Aadmi Party supremo Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday claimed his predictions have always proved correct as in a dramatic flourish of pen he wrote on a piece of paper that, “AAP is forming the next government in Gujarat” and displayed it before the media in Surat.
“Before we formed a government in Delhi, I had predicted we are winning with a huge margin. And ahead of the Punjab poll, I wrote it on a piece of paper to someone that we are forming the government,” the AAP chief declared.
“I am going to do the same thing in Gujarat today. I will write it down,” he said, as he took a piece of paper and scribbled on it in Hindi that the AAP will come to power in Gujarat. About the number of seats he is predicting for his party, Mr Kejriwal grinned, “We will get more than 92 and the BJP will obviously get less than that.”
A party needs 92 seats in the 182-member Gujarat assembly to form a government.
Stating that he was aware of the “exploitation” of regular and temporary government staff in Gujarat, Mr Kejriwal promised them, “I assure you right away that your demand to revive the old pension scheme will be implemented and come into force from January 31, 2023, once you help make the government here.”
He said any State where the government employees were unhappy was a situation of grave concern since they were the ones who reach the government and its welfare policies to the people.
Mr Kejriwal said, “By January 31, we will issue a notification for implementing the old pension scheme in Gujarat. I am not just talking. In Punjab, we have issued the notification.”
He said other contractual employees, policemen, state transport workers, village computer entrepreneurs, anganwadi workers, teachers, health workers, talatis, sanitation workers had various issues related to grade pay, permanent job, increase of wages and transfer posting.
“I assure them that we will resolve their issues. I request them all with folded hands that for a party to win an election, the support of government employees is important. I would appeal to them to give every single vote to the AAP in postal ballot and canvass for the party during the next three-four days,” he said.
He claimed a vast majority of the people would vote for the AAP but they are scared of the BJP and don’t reveal this openly. “They would go and vote for the AAP in both phases on Dec 1 and 5,” Mr Kejriwal claimed.
The AAP national convener said, “It is the first time in 27 years the BJP is so agitated. You go out on a street and ask people whom they would vote for. They would either say the AAP or the BJP. Those who say they would vote for the BJP reveal after five minutes that they and their entire mohalla were going to vote for the broom (AAP’s poll symbol).”
“We have contested elections in many states, but Gujarat is the first state where people are scared of declaring whom they would vote for. The common man is scared. Second, the Congress voters are nowhere to be found, and third, the BJP supporters are going to vote for the AAP in large numbers,” he claimed.
