It is unusual for a chief minister to undertake tour of a neighbouring state to take stock of the political situation there, but that’s what Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister of Delhi and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo has been doing recently.
The reason is simple. AAP has decided to contest both parliamentary and Assembly elections in Haryana and is preparing the ground for that. AAP does not have a strong base in the state which it is trying to build now.
AAP has been preparing grounds for the parliamentary as well as assembly elections in the state and has sort of launched an election campaign without announcing so. According to Kejriwal, the contest will be tough in Haryana in the presence of the ruling BJP, the Congress and the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD).
In the run up to the elections in Haryana, AAP is offering the Delhi Model of good governance in front of people of Haryana with examples of low cost electricity, educational growth in government schools and better employment opportunities. Kejriwal said.
Senior party leader and AAP president in Haryana, Naveen Jaihind has been entrusted with the task of strengthening the party at the ground level. AAP knows that a tough contest lies ahead, but it is sure a good showing in the first attempt in Parliamentary elections will open party’s doors for the future.
Arvind Kejriwal and his team consisting of Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and AAP Haryana president Naveen Jaihind are at present gauging the status of health and education system in different rural areas of various districts to be able to offer a better model for Haryana if AAP comes to power next time.
Kejriwal and his team recently visited parts of south Haryana and addressed a public rally in Bhiwani. He has targeted the poor rural health and school infrastructure and praised the Mohalla Clinic in Delhi. He has promised to implement the `Delhi Model’ in Haryana. Kejriwal plans to visit many more places in Haryana soon.
The Aam Aadmi Party can be credited with improving the health and education system in Delhi where it is in power for the last four years. The success and popularity of Mohalla Clinics introduced by AAP have made national headlines and are even known abroad. The
improvement in the education system too has been significant in Delhi, according to AAP leaders.
So there is no exaggeration if AAP leaders claim there has been a world of change and improvement in health management and quality of education in Delhi. The poor people especially have benefited a great deal as a result of the AAP’s efforts.
AAP supremo and Delhi Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has been undertaking the Haryana tours for a better public contact programme in different rural areas of various districts. Kejriwal, accompanied by his deputy Manish Sisodia and Haryana AAP president Naveen Jaihind has already visited Beri in Jhajjar district and addressed a public rally in Bhiwani. He has targeted the poor rural health and school infrastructure and praised the Mohalla Clinics in Delhi. He has promised to implement the `Delhi Model’ in Haryana.
Kejriewal was highly critical of the condition of the rural schools in Haryana. He said that so afraid is the Manohar Lal Khattar led Haryana government of the visit of AAP team that it is trying in a hurry now to repair the dilapidated school building and improve basic civic amenities in the rural areas of the state. The AAP members said both in Beri and Tosham, the school buildings have been repaired in a hurry to show them in a good condition. Arvind Kejriwal said that the BJP government in Haryana is afraid of the bad publicity of the schools in poor condtion and so has started repariring them in a hurry.
The AAP leader said never before did the Haryana government take any care of the government schools in rural areas of the state and even the union minister from this region, V K Singh also did not pay any attention to Bapora which is home village. There is no drainage system in the school. There is water logging around the school even now, but the administration was hurriedly pumping out the water. He regretted the fact that neither any governmeent official nor any MLA or minister ever visited the school to have a look at the pathetic civic conditions there.The government’s apathy was evident, he said.
But shortage of money is a big constraint for the AAP party in contesting the Haryana elections. Arvind Kejriwal has has said that his party does not have enough funds to contest the coming assembly elections in Haryana and urged people to spend from their own pocket to canvass for the party.
After a public event in Jhajjar Kejriwal also visited Bhiwani the next day a few days ago where he also addressed a gathering of supporters and visited some government schools. He said people have been asking him why there are no hoardings of AAP in Haryana. He told the people this was so because AAP did not indulge in any form of corruption and naturally there was not much money with the party fund.
Kejriwal told the gathering that he has been the CM of Delhi for more than three years and could have easily made good money through government projects and tenders, but they wanted to provide a honest government and that’s what has been done.
With regard to the shortage of funds with AAP to contest elections, Kejriwal agrees that AAP lacks finances for contesting poll. He therefore appealed to the people to fight elections on their behalf. He said people will have to do door to door campaign to seek votes for the AAP in Haryana. He said it will work for a better life for people in case it wins elections in Haryana. The people will also benefit when the government provides better healthcare.
The AAP leaders have frequently attacked the Manohar Lal Khattar-led BJP government in Haryana. During a recent tour of the state Kejriwal said the BJP government was looting state farmers by withdrawing money from their accounts every month in the name of insurance, but was giving nothing to them for crop loss.
The Haryana government imposed tax on farmers by withdrawing money forcibly from their account. In Delhi, the AAP government had given 20,000 per acre to farmers for their loss of crops,” Kejriwal had stated earlier.
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