The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is poised to make history in Jalandhar by electing its first Member of Parliament (MP) to power after attaining national party status. Addressing a large gathering of supporters during his roadshow in Jalandhar, AAP National Convenor and Delhi CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal expressed confidence that his party would do such good work that after the next year, the people of Punjab would send AAP to the Lok Sabha from all 13 seats. He also highlighted the progress made under the AAP government in Punjab, including free electricity for the public, a Samman Rashi of 1 crore for the families of martyrs, and employment opportunities for the youth.
Shri Arvind Kejriwal criticised the previous governments for not doing enough for the people of Punjab and emphasised that the people of Jalandhar had given 60 years to the Congress party, but it did nothing. He urged voters to give the AAP just 11 months to demonstrate its capabilities. He also took a dig at the Congress party for not sending its senior leaders to ask for votes in Jalandhar, suggesting that the party did not need the votes of the people.
In a show of support for the Jalandhar candidate Shri Sushil Kumar Rinku, Shri Arvind Kejriwal and Chief Minister Sardar Bhagwant Mann participated in back-to-back roadshows. The AAP is hoping to make significant gains in the upcoming elections and has been working tirelessly to connect with voters and communicate its vision for a better Punjab. With the support of the people, the party hopes to bring about positive change in the region and create a brighter future for all. The first roadshow was held at Jyoti Chowk in Jalandhar Central at noon. This was followed by another rally at Basti Guja Adda in Jalandhar West at 3 pm. The penultimate rally was held at Sodal Chowk in Jalandhar North at 4 pm and the final rally was at SBI Chowk at Jalandhar Cantt at 5 pm.
Addressing the public, Shri Arvind Kejriwal said that a lot of people from Punjab travel to Delhi and when we meet them they all seem to be excited about the AAP Government in Punjab and say that a lot of developmental work has happened in the state within the last one year.
He asked the people if their electricity bills have become zero and everyone overwhelmingly said yes. He further said that a year ago when Sardar Bhagwant Mann and he travelled across the state making the promise of a ‘zero electricity bill’, people were unsure if it was really possible. However they decided to give AAP a chance at the state level, he said.
He also said that when AAP announced a few months ago that it would start the free electricity scheme, several politicians came up to him and said that the government should not do this so soon and instead wait for a few months before the next election to start the scheme. “We have not formed the state government in Punjab to do politics. We have formed the government to serve the people of the state,” he told the crowd.
Shri Arvind Kejriwal said that the state government will always work for the people of the state. He also pointed out that the state government will work for all sections of the society – it could be the youth, farmers, soldiers, women and so on. Listing out the works of the state government in the last one year, he added that several new government jobs have been provided to the youth, people with temporary government jobs have been finalised, farmers have been provided money for their crops, families of the martyrs have been provided Rs 1 crore. He further said that the residents of Punjab have never before seen the state government work for the people in such a manner.
Urging the residents of Jalandhar to vote for AAP candidate Shri Sushil Rinku, Shri Arvind Kejriwal said that unlike most other political parties, AAP will not ask people for another 5 years to bring development to the city. He asked for merely 11 months and said that if the AAP candidate does not work in the next 11 months, then the people need not vote for AAP ever.
He further said that it was because of the people of Punjab that AAP has become a National Party within a short span of 10 years. He said that now it is time for the party to go to the Lok Sabha. “When AAP forms the government at the Centre, it will be asked who was the first Member of Parliament for the Aam Aadmi Party. It is your very own Sardar Bhagwant Mann. Similarly, people will ask from where was the first MP elected after AAP became a National Party, and it will be from Jalandhar. Our work will be so good that in the Lok Sabha elections next year, all 13 MPs of Punjab will belong to the Aam Aadmi Party,” he said.
Reminding the people that Jalandhar has had an MP belonging to the Congress party for 60 years now, Shri Arvind Kejriwal asked why this time around no senior leader of Congress from Delhi had visited the state. “Two of the senior-most leaders of AAP, the two chief ministers, Sardar Bhagwant Mann and I are present here to ask for your vote. Why has no one from the Congress party come here to ask for your vote. Why has Rahul Gandhi not come here to ask for your vote? This is because they take it for granted that the people will vote for the Congress. Why should the people here vote for a party that does not even bother to ask people for their vote?,” he said.
He concluded by pointing out that when Sardar Bhagwant Mann had fought the Lok Sabha elections from Sangrur, he had gone on to win by a record margin. Shri Arvind Kejriwal asked the people of Jalandhar to vote for the AAP candidate and break that record. “I am certain that the people of Jalandhar will come out in large numbers and vote for Shri Sushil Rinku and make sure that the constituency has an MP belonging to AAP, ” he said.
While, Punjab CM Sardar Bhagwant Mann said that the opposition parties fight among themselves for power. “But we don’t fight amongst ourselves, we fight for the people and for the development of Punjab. We believe in working. We have done a lot of work in the last one year. The amount of work that we have done in one year, other governments did not do that much even in 10 years.” He said that now the electricity bill has started coming to zero in the homes of the people of Punjab, the youth have started getting government jobs, the contract employees are getting regularised. “Together we will make Punjab Rangla Punjab. Together we all have to make Punjab drug free. Our candidate Sushil Rinku is your son. He knows every street of Jalandhar and is aware of your issues. He will solve all your issues,” he added.
