Now Gujarat will change, says Delhi CM Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is on a day-long visit to Gujarat reportedly as part of preparations ahead of polls in the state in 2022.

Ahmedabad: Ahead of Gujarat Assembly polls 2022, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will be on a one-day visit to the state on Monday, according to Aam Aadmi Party spokesperson. The AAP's intention is to strengthen its influence in Gujarat after the party emerged as the main opposition in the civic body elections in Surat city.

Taking to Twitter, Kejriwal wrote in Gujarati, "Now Gujarat will change. Tomorrow I am coming to Gujarat, and will meet all the brothers and sisters of Gujarat."

“As per Kejriwal's day-long itinerary, he will arrive at Ahmedabad airport at 10.20 am, from where he will go to the circuit house. At 11.40 am, he will hold a press conference at the city's Vallabh Sadan after taking the blessings of Lord Krishna,” a party press release said. He will then leave to inaugurate the party's new state office located on Ashram Road. Kejriwal will leave for Delhi on the same day, party's spokesperson Tuli Banerjee said. His last visit to Gujarat was in February and his party has been aggressively preparing for the upcoming Assembly polls, according to sources.

The AAP is looking to present itself as a formidable alternative to the Congress in Gujarat and challenge the BJP in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home turf. The party is trying to fill in the gap left by the Congress, which has seen setbacks in the recent past with several of its MLAs resigning, and its poor performance in the local body polls held in February this year, as per sources.

The AAP had made inroads into Gujarat politics by winning 27 seats in the 120-member Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC), emerging as the main opposition. The party had also fielded candidates across all the local bodies- municipal corporations, municipalities, as well as district and taluka panchayats, winning several of them, according to reports.