Vote for AAP, tweets Mamata Banerjee

In a surprise move, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday urged the people of Delhi to vote for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi. "My request to all of you in Delhi to please vote for AAP," she tweeted. "For the greater need of the country and development in Delhi."

                           

The AAP and the Bharatiya Janata Party are the main contenders for power in Saturday's election for the 70-member Delhi assembly.  

On Wednesday, the Left parties announced their support to AAP and asked their supporters to vote for Arvind Kejriwal.

"15 seats are being contested jointly by Left parties in the Delhi polls. Rest of the 55 seats, our party has decided that it will ask our party members and voters to vote for the AAP. Most of the other left parties are also of the same view," CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat told reporters in New Delhi.

Shatrughan Sinha praises AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal, calls him a good man

Just two days to go for Delhi polls, but Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal seems to be getting support from unexpected corners. Moments after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday urged the people of Delhi to vote for AAP, BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha has too joined the bandwagon in AAP's praise.

                              


"Arvind Kejriwal is a good man, and AAP's prospects are bright," Sinha said, adding "Everyone is talking about AAP, newspapers are flooded with them, TV channels are discussing them, means that they are popular."
He said, "Fight in Delhi is between Kiran Bedi, who has a clean image and has been a good officer, and Arvind Kejriwal, who too has a clean image."
The negative campaigning that I've been observing in Delhi politics is unfortunate, we must not indulge in mud-slinging, the leader was quoted as saying.
Comparing Bedi with BJP leader Harsh Vardhan, he however said, "Harsh Vardhan would have been a better choice for Delhi CM candidate."
In a surprise move, Mamata Banerjee on Thursday urged the people of Delhi to vote for AAP. "My request to all of you in Delhi to please vote for AAP," she tweeted, adding, "For the greater need of the country and development in Delhi."
On Wednesday, the CPI(M) too had announced their support to AAP and asked their supporters to vote for Arvind Kejriwal. AAP and BJP are the main contenders for power in Saturday's election for the 70-member Delhi assembly.

Grateful to Bedi for sparing my children : Kejriwal

Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday took a jibe at BJP chief ministerial nominee Kiran Bedi as he thanked her for sparing his children in BJP's campaign advertisement.

"I am grateful to Kiran Bedi ji for sparing my family and kids out of BJP's ads today," he tweeted.

He was referring to a cartoon that appeared on BJP's campaign advertisement alleging that Kejriwal had used his children to usurp power in Delhi. The same cartoon also had a caricature of Lok Pal crusader Anna Hazare's portrait with a garland on it. Kejriwal had slammed the BJP for depicting Hazare as a dead person.

                             

BJP's Sunday advertisement is also in a cartoon form in which the BJP has alleged that Kejriwal went back on his pre-poll promise of not taking a government bungalow as residence if he came to power.

Kejriwal had moved in to government's bungalow at Tilak Marg last year after he became the Chief Minister of Delhi. He vacated the bungalow after he resigned.

Both the BJP and the AAP have been embroiled in a poster war ahead of the February 7 polls. While the BJP started publishing a series of cartoons in newspapers, the AAP used auto posters to term Bedi an opportunist.

Modi attacks Kejriwal, says Delhi won't vote for betrayers

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is confident that Delhi will get a Chief Minister from Krishna Nagar. Addressing a poll rally in Karkarduma, East Delhi, the PM asked the people of Delhi to vote for a BJP government as it can work in tandem with the centre.

"Elect a government with whom I can work shoulder to shoulder towards making a positive difference in your lives," Modi said.

Making an indirect attack on the Aam Aadmi Party, he said: "People can make a mistake once, but not again and again. One year back, Delhi people had voted with dreams.

"Last year, those whom you people voted, back-stabbed you and shattered your dreams," the prime minister said.

"Delhi won't vote for betrayers," he added.

Modi said the entire world was watching the Delhi polls.

"If India needs to be introduced to the world, then Delhi is the best place to showcase.

"All events in the capital have an imprint on not only the country but the entire world. It represents India," he said.

                               

This is Modi's first rally after poll dates were announced. The Prime Minister will hold four rallies in five days. These are the highlights:

1. We are moving towards victory in Delhi, this time the Chief Minister will be from Krishna Nagar.
2. This election will set a view of India in front of the entire world.
3. I have come to Delhi not just to rule at the centre, but to serve you and work with equal force.
4. Have come to reinstate Delhi and fix the damage that was caused in the last 15 years.
5. You must check the track record of the big-talkers around you, you can fool someone, but only once.
6. A year ago the people of Delhi voted with some dreams, but those very people betrayed you, led you to instability.
7. People of Delhi endowed us with immense love, but did not give us the opportunity to rule the govt last time.
8. When BJP came to power in Haryana, CM took effective steps to give water to Delhi.
9. Both Delhi and Haryana were ruled by Congress, but still the people of Delhi were bothered about problems of drinking water.
10. People of Delhi endowed us with immense love, but did not give us the opportunity to rule the govt last time.
11. By the time we celebrate the 75th year of independent India, we will ensure that all slums are replaced by cemented houses.
12. If the world is looking upto India today, it's not because of Modi but because of its people.
13. Had Obama come to Delhi only as Chief Guest & nothing worthwhile would have happened, our critiques would have willfully condemned me.

                               

AAP releases manifesto, promises Jan Lokpal and statehood to Delhi

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday released manifesto for its upcoming polls in Delhi.

Releasing the manifesto, AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal said, "environment, women, autowalas, traffic, economy, we have covered all these areas in our manifesto."

Among the significant announcements in the manifesto, the party promised to push for Delhi's statehood and bring down the VAT charges in Delhi to the lowest level among all states and Union Territories within five years. The party made a host of promises in its manifesto like 24X7 "affordable" power supply, free Wi-Fi across the city, installation of at least 10 lakh CCTV cameras for women security, making water a legal right and slashing VAT significantly.
In order to ensure women security, the party promised to install 10-15 lakh CCTV cameras all over the city along with ensuring a security guard in every bus.
"If 15,000 CCTV cameras can be installed for Barack Obama why can't the same be done for our mothers and sisters? We will install 10-15 lakh CCTV cameras along with putting a security guard in every bus," the former Chief Minister said.
The manifesto also reiterates the party's long-standing promise of slashing power tariff by half till the audit of private discoms.
"We will slash the power tariff by half. After that we will ensure a rigorous audit of the private discoms which have had a free run till now," Kejriwal said, adding water availability will be made a "legal right".
AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal said the document was not just another electoral document but the party's "Geeta, Bible, Quran and Guru Granth Sahib" which it will implement point-by-point if voted to power.
"We have made special reservations for senior citizens in our manifesto, and also the youth," Kejriwal added.
He said that party would implement all the promises made in their manifesto as they had done in the earlier rule of 49 days.

                                   

"We want a Delhi where everyone will be proud of calling himself or herself its resident. Where every class grows equally, irrespective of caste or religion," Kejriwal said adding the manifesto is a product of four months of "intense research".
The Aam Aadmi Party also promised to ensure all round development of Delhi to make it a global city.
Taking a dig at BJP for not coming out with a manifesto, Kejriwal said that the BJP was shying away from making any promises as they had not fulfilled any of the promises they had made at the time of the Lok Sabha election.
"What to say about fulfilling promises, they (BJP) have not taken any steps in that direction," the AAP leader said.
He added: "BJP had talked of bringing down prices but they are rising unabated. They had also talked of bringing down the rate of electricity charges but the same has been hiked twice since they came to power."
With regard to the Congress, Kejriwal said that in their rule of 15 years they released three manifestos in which they had made tall claims, but sadly most of their promises have not realised.
Delhi will go to polls on February 7 and the results will be announced on February 10.

PM Modi wears Rs.10-lakh suit, says Rahul Gandhi

ongress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi, addressing an election rally in Delhi  on Thursday, attacked the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for wearing a suit that carried his name where holding talks with US President Barack Obama on January 25. He also targeted the Aam Aadmi Party.

                        

Here are 11 things Rahul Gandhi said in his rally in Seelampur:

1. Modi-ji promised to credit Rs.15 lakh in everyone's account. Did you get the amount? No, you didn't but Modi-ji is wearing Rs.10 lakh suit."

2. "The AAP has just one agenda: to stop Congress from coming to power".

3. "Wherever there are elections, they have communal clashes. Did you see any AAP or BJP MLA in Trilokpuri? You only saw Congress.

4. "The Congress party will not become weak."

5. ""Delhi is the capital of nation. It's everyone's city. If we have to take Delhi ahead, we'll have to take everyone forward. We want everyone to be part of Delhi's progress."

6. "We will provide  the right to shelter to every poor person."

7. "We will regularise contract workers and temporary workers and make them permanent".

8. "When the UPA ruled, Arvind Kejriwal raised issues of rape and corruption and held protests. Now when there is a NDA government, rape cases in Delhi have increased by 30 per cent but Kejriwal did not hold any protest."

9. "Let me tell you what Congress will do. There will be a government of brotherhood. We ruled here for 15 years and not a single riot took place."

10. "We will provide shelter to every poor person of Delhi so that they also feel that Delhi is their city."

11. The BJP wants to divide Hindus and Muslims, wants the poor to fight. That is what their strategy is so that a few corporates can benefit."

Amar Singh with Jaya Prada, Kiran Bedi and Shazia Ilmi, All looking at BJP

Former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Kiran Bedi, former Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Prada, her mentor and fellow RLD leader Amar Singh, and former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Shazia Ilmi are expected to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday. The formal announcement is expected to be made at a press conference to be addressed by party chief Amit Shah shortly.

Amar Singh, who offers a package deal to the BJP with Jaya, said, " We (Jaya Prada and me) are in touch with everybody. We had met BJP's Om Mathur and Prabhat Jha. I am also an old friend of (Finance Minister) Arun Jaitley."

"I want to work under PM Modi's leadership as a normal worker. I am not aiming for any kind of post," she said.

                                

Sources in the BJP said the three women are also expected to contest the February 7 Delhi Assembly elections. There are strong rumours about Jaya being fielded opposite AAP chief and former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal from the prestigious New Delhi constituency.

There is also speculation about Bedi, an active supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in TV debates, as the BJP's chief ministerial candidate. Bedi, along with Kejriwal, was one of the prominent faces of the India Against Corruption campaign led by Gandhian activist Anna Hazare.

Jaya Prada, the other possible high-profile entrant to the party, had lost the 2014 Lok Sabha polls from Bijnor seat in Uttar Pradesh. Along with her mentor Amar Singh, the actor-turned-politician had joined Ajit Singh's Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) in 2014. She was an MP from the Rampur parliamentary seat in UP twice in 2004 and 2009.

Jaya is said to be in touch with the BJP for a long time now. She reportedly met party chief Amit Shah recently.

The third high profile woman expected to join the BJP on Thursday, Shazia Ilmi, on Wednesday said she will campaign for the party in the Delhi Assembly elections. Ilmi had quit the AAP last year, accusing the party of lacking democracy within and its chief Arvind Kejriwal of cultivating cronies around him. She had recently joined Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pet Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan, raising speculations of her joining the saffron party.

Ilmi had contested the 2013 Delhi Assembly elections from the RK Puram constituency which she lost to BJP's Anil Sharma by a thin margin of 326 votes. She also lost the 2014 general elections from Ghaziabad against former Army chief General VK Singh.

Elections to the Delhi Assembly are to be held on February 7 and the counting of votes will be done on February 10. The BJP has not yet declared its list of candidates for the polls and is expected to do this by the end of this week.

Delhi Assembly elections on February 7, counting on February 10

The Delhi Assembly elections will be held on February 7, the Election Commission said on Monday, while the counting of votes will be held three days later on February 10.

The 70-member Delhi Assembly was dissolved in November last year after the three major parties in the national capital - the BJP, the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party - said they were not in a position to form the government, leading to the President's Rule since February, 2014.

AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal was the last chief minister of Delhi and his term ended abruptly after a brief 49 days in power over differences with the other parties on the Jan Lokpal Bill in February last year.

The parties have already begun their campaign in the national capital. Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a rally in the Ramlila Maidan on Saturday. If his speech is any indication, the BJP considers the AAp as its main rival in the forthcoming elections. "We need development here, not anarchy. They are good at dharnas... we are good at running government," Modi said.
The BJP does not have a chief ministerial candidate this year, although the AAP has pitched the February 7 election as a Kejriwal vs Jagdish Mukhi of the BJP fight. The Congress, which ruled Delhi for three terms in a row, on Monday announced former Union Minister Ajay Maken as its face for the polls.