 "Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal with his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann during a road show in the New Delhi constituency on Sunday Photo: AAP/X")
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal spent his first 48 hours outside jail holding two political discourse-setting press conferences, the first of which, on Saturday, forced the top leadership of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to clarify that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not retire once he turns 75.
The other, on Sunday, had the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief list ‘Kejriwal’s ten guarantees’ if the INDIA bloc were to form the government at the Centre, which sought to project him as the fulcrum of the alliance.
Over the last two days, Kejriwal also took part in road shows for the party’s candidates in Delhi, and according to party leaders, held a tear-jerker of a meeting with AAP legislators, where he thanked them for standing by him and keeping the party’s unity intact during 51 days he spent in jail. He also visited his lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi to thank him, and will, at the invitation of regional parties of the INDIA bloc, campaign in Jamshedpur, Lucknow, and Mumbai.
“Kejriwal’s ten guarantees” rival “Modi's guarantees”, with the BJP manifesto, released last month, having listed 24 ‘Modi's guarantees’ and Congress’ “panch nyay”, or five guarantees each for the five sections of the society, which its leader Rahul Gandhi has popularised.
"I have not discussed this with my INDIA bloc partners. I will press upon my INDIA bloc partners to fulfill these guarantees," he said.
More From This Section
Kejriwal’s guarantees, which he announced at a press conference on Sunday, encompass social welfare to national security.
The Delhi Chief Minister promised free power across the country to poor households, committed to ensuring quality affordable education in villages, better healthcare, empowering the armed forces to “free” Indian territory under Chinese occupation, and scrapping the Agniveer scheme.
At his first press conference on Saturday, Kejriwal asked the BJP to come clean on its succession plan since Modi would retire, according to the BJP’s rule, once he turns 75 in September next year. He also alleged that the BJP was planning to replace Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath within two months of the conclusion of the Lok Sabha polls.
The BJP’s top brass, led by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP national president JP Nadda, and others, rushed to clarify on Saturday that the party’s constitution had no provision for retiring those who turn 75.
Shah said Modi will continue to lead the country until 2029 and beyond.
Kejriwal said on Sunday that the BJP leaders rushed to clarify the point he made about Modi’s retirement age but not his assertion that Adityanath could be replaced. Kejriwal said people will have to choose between "Modi ki Guarantee" and "Kejriwal ki guarantee", where the latter has years of credibility attached to it while Modi had implemented his guarantees only in their breach.
The AAP chief’s objective, a party insider said, is to set the agenda for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in the 21 days he has for campaigning, plans for the Haryana and Delhi Assembly polls, scheduled for October 2024 and February 2025 respectively, where the AAP hopes to be a contender and settle the question of the division of the labour within the party.
“We have factored in the possibility that his incarceration, once he returns to jail on June 2, could be prolonged. The objective is to ensure well-demarcated roles and responsibilities for the party’s top leaders, such as Sanjay Singh, Sandeep Pathak, Saurabh Bhardwaj, and others,” a party strategist said, adding that as a campaigner, the role of Sunita Kejriwal would be crucial.
Watch: What are 'Kejriwal ki 10 guarantee'
