New Delhi : In developments that could abate Delhi’s power war, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday greeted Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on his birthday to wish him “long life and good health” while Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung sent him a birthday cake and flowers. Besides several supporters and residents who poured into Kejriwal’s Civil Lines residence, BJP stalwart L K Advani, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee greeted the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader over telephone.
Jung, with whom Kejriwal has been having a running feud, surprised the AAP founder leader by sending a cake and flowers. Ahead of his departure to the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, Modi said he had telephoned Kejriwal and wished him on his 47th birthday.
“Spoke to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and wished him on his birthday. My prayers for his long life and good health,” Modi said in a brief tweet.
Kejriwal, who lost to Modi in Varanasi in the Lok Sabha election, thanked the prime minister for his wishes, saying he was “touched”.
“Thank you so much Sir for your wishes. I am touched. I look forward to meeting you soon to brief you on Delhi’s situation,” said Kejriwal who led his party to a sweeping win in February. An AAP source told IANS that Modi also sent a birthday card.
This is the first known direct communication between Modi and Kejriwal since the latter called on the prime minister after the AAP routed the BJP in the February assembly election.
The result left the Bharatiya Janata Party with just three of the 70 seats in the Delhi assembly. The AAP won 67 seats. Modi’s gesture came a day after Kejriwal said in his Independence Day address here that there must be a “working arrangement” between the prime minister and the Delhi chief minister.
