Amritsar, April 11 (IANS): Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal started his three-day political road show in Punjab from this Sikh holy city Friday. Kejriwal offered prayers at `Harmandar Sahib’, popularly known as the Golden Temple, before starting his election tour.
Kejriwal’s arrival in this city, 250 km from Chandigarh, is likely to add to the political heat generated by the high-profile clash between senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley and Congress candidate, former chief minister Amarinder Singh, for the Amritsar Lok Sabha seat.
Kejriwal arrived late Thursday night by train amid tight security and took out a road show to reach the Golden Temple complex. After offering prayers at the holiest of Sikh shrines, the AAP leader left for Tarn Taran for campaigning and is expected to hold road shows in Batala and Gurdaspur towns later Friday.
The AAP has fielded noted ophthalmologist Daljit Singh as its candidate for the Amritsar seat to take on Jaitley and Amarinder. On Saturday, Kejriwal will visit Khatkar Kalan, the village of martyr Bhagat Singh, near Nawan Shehr town, 80 km from Chandigarh. He will hold road shows in Ludhiana, where AAP has fielded lawyer H.S. Phoolka.
Kejriwal will hold road shows in Ahmedgarh, Malerkotla, Sangrur and Suman on Sunday before returning to Delhi. Punjab’s 13 Lok Sabha constituencies go to polls April 30. The main fight is between the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance and the Congress. The AAP, which does not have much base in Punjab, has fielded candidates in all constituencies.
Book on rise of AAP, Arvind Kejriwal
A book for the first time has analysed the rise of the AAP and its leader Arvind Kejriwal and the highs and lows of the party that made a stunning debut in last December’s Delhi assembly election.
The book “The Disrupter: Arvind Kejriwal and the Audacious Rise of the Aam Aadmi” (Rupa) written by journalists Gautam Chikermane and Soma Banerjee traces the journey of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) that surprised everyone with its 28-seat victory in the election to the 70-member assembly in December 2013 to Kejriwal’s 49-day stint as the Delhi chief minister.
