People will vote against corruption and inflation: Kejriwal
Maken says Congress will do ‘exceedingly’ well
New Delhi: As Delhi votes for a new govern-ment, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday exuded confidence of getti-ng a clear mandate for his party and said truth will triumph. “I am confident that AAP will win the elections and form government in Delhi,” he told PTI after casting his vote at B K Dutt colony.
Kejriwal is seeking re-election from the prestigious New Delhi constituency where he had handed down a crushing defeat to then Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit by a whopping 22,000 votes.
“I am confident that truth will win, people will win. And the people will vote this time to get rid of corruption and inflation,” Kejriwal said BJP’s Nupur Sharma and Congress’ former Delhi minister Kiran Walia are the other main contenders in the New Delhi seat. Appealing to people to come out and vote, Kejriwal said, “It is important to vote.
Everyone should remember God and cast their votes.” Earlier, Kejriwal in a tweet said, “Take a bath and head out to vote with a prayer. You will definitely win.” After casting his vote, the AAP chief posed for pictures with the polling staff and some of them even took “selfies” with him.
As media personnel jostled each other outside the polling booth, Kejriwal was escorted out of the booth from a back door. The BJP, which is out of power in Delhi for the last 16 years, made a strong bid to win the polls as the party fielded around 120 MPs and scores of Union Ministers inclu-ding Arun Jaitley, Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Uma Bharti, Dharmendra Pradhan, M Venkaiah Naidu for campaigning. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his four rallies, mainly targeted AAP while appea-ling to people to give him an opportunity to make Delhi reach new heights in development. The AAP, which has mainly confined its campaign to door-to-door approach and corner meetings, is seen a major force with number of opinion polls giving a clear mandate to the party.
BJP:Facing a stiff competition from a resurgent AAP, BJP’s chief ministerial candidate Kiran Bedi on Saturday said people of Delhi must seize the opportunity of electing two leaders — herself and Prime Minister Narendra Modi — to take the city to “new heights”.
Exuding confidence of a BJP victory, Bedi appealed to the people to come out in large numbers and vote. “Today is a historic day. Delhiites have to decide what kind of Delhi they want – a clean Delhi, a secure Delhi, a capable Delhi, a Delhi that respects women. Respecting women is respe-cting Delhi. I appeal people to come out and vote.
“The voters are getting the opportunity to elect two leaders in this election. My victory in Delhi would mean the Prime Minister’s leadership as well,” Bedi said after casting her vote in Malviya Nagar constituency. The former ‘Team Anna’ member, who is contesting from Krishna Nagar constituency in East Delhi, said the BJP was determined to ensure all round development of all sections. Bedi was made BJP’s chief ministerial candidate on January 15. Hitting out at her rival Arvind Kejriwal, 65-year-old Bedi said, “He does not even live in Delhi. He lives in Ghaziabad. I have been connected with the people here for over 40 years.” Bedi took on AAP’s 49-day government in Delhi, saying the party was misleading people for electoral benefits and that a BJP government would take the city to “new heights”. Meanwhile, Shazia Ilmi, who switched sides from AAP to BJP, today accused a section of the media of favouring AAP in run up to the polls.
Congress: Minutes after casting his vote, senior Congress leader Ajay Maken on Saturday exuded confidence that his party will do “exceedingly” well in the Delhi polls and hoped that it will form the government on its own.
“I am very hopeful that Congress is going to do exceedingly well and we are going to form government on our own. People are in for a big shock and surprise on Feb 10,” he told reporters as he showed his inked finger at a Rajouri Garden polling booth.
Reaching the booth early in the morning, Maken also urged people of Delhi to come out and vote in large numbers. “I request them (people) to vote judiciously. This is a very important day and each and every vote is very important for all of us,” he said.
The Congress leader said, Delhi has a large number of issues which need to be solved and providing good governance is the need of the hour. “Delhi being a Union Territory has multiplicity of authority and complex and administrative issues unlike other states.We need set of people and a chief minister who can wade through these issues and provide good governance,” he said.(PTI)