Holding a poster of arrested Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, 52-year-old Kamlesh Jain, a homemaker, stood outside a sweet shop in East Delhi’s Kalyan Puri, along with her friends Abrisha (35) and Rama (70) – all of whom donned the Aam Aadmi Party’s signature cap.
Just as Sunita Kejriwal, the Delhi CM’s wife, waved from a car in her first political roadshow in Delhi on Saturday, 27 April, Kamlesh told The Quint:
“Campaign karne aaj Kejriwal ji ko aana tha, likhen yeh aayi hai. Jiska aadmi jail mei ho, usko bahar aana hi padega. Socho, woh kitni dard mei hogi. (It should’ve been Kejriwal ji who should’ve campaigned, but she has come instead. A woman whose husband is in jail has no option but to come out. Imagine the pain she must be in.)”
From a sea of yellow and blue flags to ‘We miss you Kejriwal’ posters and megaphones playing AAP’s campaign song – ‘Jail ke Jawab Mein Hum Vote Denge’ – these were the scenes that unfolded during the 90-minute roadshow as Sunita Kejriwal campaigned for AAP’s East Delhi Lok Sabha candidate Kuldeep Kumar ahead of the voting day for the constituency on 25 May.
Standing through the sunroof of a vehicle, Sunita said, “Your Chief Minister is a sher (lion), nobody can break him or make him bow down,” even as the crowd repeatedly shouted the slogan “Jail ka jawab vote sai.” (Will respond to jail time with votes).
“If Arvind is like my son, Sunita is like my daughter. He made water, electricity, and buses free for us. He built good hospitals and has done a lot for senior citizens like me. Now, it is our time to support him. We will stand by them no matter what,” Rama said.
‘Will Vote To Remove Dictatorship and Save Democracy’: Sunita Kejriwal
As Sunita Kejriwal covered a one-kilometre stretch canvassing for Kumar with folded hands, she stopped at two points to address the public with a less than five-minute-long speech.
Expressing her gratitude to the thronging supporters who eagerly awaited her arrival, she alleged that Kejriwal’s incarceration was a consequence of his commitment to the welfare of Delhi residents.
“I know you all miss Arvind Kejriwal. They have said they will keep him in jail… they are not even giving him insulin, which he used to take every day. Do they want to kill him? What is he being punished for? For building schools, mohalla clinics, for giving women Rs 1,000 per month and for taking the elderly on pilgrimage? No one will forget him; no one will forget what he has done for them…”
Sunita Kejriwal at a roadshow
She urged people to cast their vote in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Delhi on 25 May and said, “We will vote to remove dictatorship and save democracy…”
“For one month, they have forcefully put your CM and my husband in jail. No court has convicted him so far. They are saying that the investigation is going on. If the investigation goes on for 10 years, will they keep him in jail for 10 years?” she added as the crowd yelled “Nahi! (No)”
Sunita’s roadshow passed through areas that fall under East Delhi’s Trilokpuri and Kondli Assembly constituencies, both of which have been dominated by AAP since it first contested elections in 2013.
This time, AAP has fielded sitting Kondli MLA Kuldeep Kumar from East Delhi, who was also part of the roadshow. Kumar will be fighting the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Harsh Malhotra. At present, cricketer-turned-politician Gautam Gambhir represents the constituency.
Article source: thequint.com
