Gambhir's celebrity status will go against him: Atishi

AAP's East Delhi candidate Atishi, who is pitted against cricketer-turned-politician Gautam Gambhir, said that former Ace cricketer's celebrity status would go against him. People might want to see stars but want their representatives to be available to them in their everyday lives, she further added.

New Delhi:Claiming that her BJP rival Gautam Gambhir is proving to be a novice whose celebrity status will go against him, AAP's East Delhi candidate Atishi stated that people might wish to see stars but want their representatives to be available to them in their everyday lives.

The Oxford graduate, who believes BJP as her main opponent and the Congress stands number three in the race, said people won't vote for the former cricketer because they know he will be disqualified after elections.

Gautam Gambhir is also proving to be a novice candidate. His nomination form was not filed correctly. He has two voter identity cards. People have this mindset - now that Gambhir has two voter identity cards and he will anyway get disqualified so why waste our vote on him, Atishi told in an interview.

The 37-year-old, who doesn't use her second name Marlena but has not dropped it officially, said celebrities have a disadvantage. People will come to see them but an MP is someone they want in their everyday lives, she explained.

Everyone knows Gautam Gambhir is a star who is going to be in Bombay, London and Johannesburg. He is not going to be available to attend to people of his constituency, she said.

The AAP candidate is locked in a three-way fight with Gambhir and Congress' Arvinder Singh Lovely in the elections on May 12, the penultimate round of the seven-phase polls.

According to Atishi, the third place in this election is reserved for the Congress and its role is no more than that of a vote-cutting party.

Calling the BJP her main competition, she said an analysis of previous elections will show the Congress has been third every time.

In this election too, we will see a repeat of 2015. The Congress lost its deposits on 90 percent of the seats. No one wants to vote for a losing candidate. I met some traditional Congress supporters but they said this time they will vote for Aam Aadmi Party, Atishi asserted.

On the opposition targeting her for her surname, Atishi said it is because they have nothing else against her.

The Opposition has nothing against me so they are trying to pull a rabbit out of a hat. A Congress MLA is saying I am a Jew. This is something that can be verified within minutes. These things are indicators the Congress is now getting desperate. In 2015, the same thing happened when the BJP and Congress launched ugly attacks against Kejriwal. It is a sign of their desperation, she said.

There is something that is an intelligent attack but this one is baseless and it will not stick, she added.