Delhiites wants to keep BJP out, won't let Cong split AAP votes: Gopal Rai

The Congress will not be able to eat into AAP's vote share because the people want to keep the BJP out of power at any cost, said Gopal Rai, a senior leader of the ruling party in Delhi.

Rai, who is the Delhi unit convener of AAP and a minister in the outgoing government, took a dig at the Congress, wondering how will it make a turnaround from drawing a blank in the 2015 and 2020 Delhi assembly polls to forming a government this time. 

 

The people of Delhi do not want to give the BJP a chance to form government here, he said in an interview with PTI.

 

"As for the Congress, it is not in a position to form a government in Delhi. They currently have no MLAs in Delhi. How can they form a government in just 15 days?  "It is being said that the Congress will cut into AAP votes, potentially helping the BJP win. However, people know that voting for the Congress will only lead to division of votes and since Delhiites do not want the BJP, they won't vote for the Congress either," said the AAP candidate from Babarpur Assembly segment.

He emphasised that Delhiites are smart and want a government that works. They do not want the BJP to form a government in Delhi and as a result, they will unite and press the button for "Jhadoo" (AAP's election symbol).

Rai accused the BJP of double standards, claiming the party used to criticise Arvind Kejriwal for offering free services but is now promising the same, which reflects their desperation.

The BJP has promising Rs 2,500 monthly aid for women, Rs 21,000 for every pregnant woman, LPG cylinders at Rs 500 and also Rs 2,500 pension for senior citizens. AAP supremo Kejriwal has termed the pledges 'revris' and said the prime minister should now admit that he was wrong in asserting 'free ki revri' was not good for the country.

Hitting out at the BJP, Rai said, "If they were confident of winning, they wouldn't have adopted the same measures they once mocked Kejriwal for.

BJP lacks the vision to work for the people, Rai said. "Despite winning the Lok Sabha elections thrice in Delhi, they have not contributed anything," he remarked.

Rai said, "If the BJP had the power to form a government in Delhi, they would have done it long ago. Governments are made by the people, and for now, the BJP neither has a leader nor an answer to who will become the chief minister even if they win."  About the "challenges" posed by the Central government and the lieutenant governor (LG), Rai said, "We worked tirelessly despite the restrictions. We now know how to handle the situation and work effectively within these constraints."  Exuding confidence about AAP victory, Rai said, "Over the past month, the atmosphere has changed and it is possible that we will surpass last assembly polls number (of seats won) and secure an even bigger mandate."  He is locked in a triangular contest in the Babarpur seat against the BJP's Anil Vashishth and the Congress' Hazi Ishraq Khan.

In the 2020 Assembly elections, Rai won the seat with approximately 84,000 votes. His closest competitor, Naresh Gaur of the BJP got 51,714 votes, while Anviksha Jain of the Congress could manage just 5,131 votes.

Talking about his own constituency, Rai said, "I have worked harder than ever. We have resolved long-standing issues such as water, sanitation, and roads. We have built modern schools, multi-specialty hospitals, and sports facilities for children. These efforts will reflect in the election results and we are confident of winning with a better margin than last time."  "The last phase (of the polls) has begun. In the first phase, I conducted foot marches and focused on organisational efforts in the second phase, while in the third phase, we initiated discussions over freebies ("revri pe charcha"). The public response has been overwhelmingly positive in each phase," he said.

About the corruption allegations against several AAP leaders, Rai claimed that the effect will be seen in the election results, but in a "positive way". "For the past two years, it was a trial by fire for us as our leaders were arrested over many allegations. But even after multiple raids by the ED and CBI, we have been proven innocent as not even a single penny was recovered.