AAP To Declare Candidates For All LS Seats In Punjab, Chandigarh In Next 15 Days: Arvind Kejriwal

AAP National Convener Arvind Kejriwal declared that his party will field candidates for seats in Punjab and one parliamentary seat in Chandigarh.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Convener Arvind Kejriwal declared on Saturday that his party will field candidates for 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab and one parliamentary seat in Chandigarh, seeking the public's support for their victory. Kejriwal made the announcement while addressing a gathering convened for the doorstep delivery of ration under the National Food Security Act of the Punjab government.

"Two years back, you gave your blessings. Out of 117 seats, you gave us 92 seats. You created history in Punjab. Today I again seek your blessing with folded hands. There will be Lok Sabha elections after two months. In Punjab there are 13 (Lok Sabha) seats, one is Chandigarh and there will be 14 seats. In the coming 10-15 days, the AAP will announce its candidates on all these 14 seats. I request you the way you blessed us two years back, get the party to win all these 14 seats," said Kejriwal, as quoted by news agency PTI.

Kejriwal also lauded the Bhagwant Mann government for its accomplishments over the past two years. He criticized rival parties, stating, "If I ask you today, in 75 years, the Congress ruled for so many years. Tell me one good work the Congress has done. (You) will not remember. If I ask you, Akali Dal ruled for so many years, tell me one good work the Akali Dal has done. (You) will not remember."

The AAP supremo's announcement comes in the wake of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's prior declaration that his party would contest independently in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Rahul Gandhi Should Have Taken Out 'INDI Jodo Yatra': BJP

The BJP remarked that this move deals another blow to the I.N.D.I.A. bloc, following Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee's decision to contest all seats in West Bengal alone, without sharing any with alliance partners.

Reacting to Kejriwal's announcement, BJP National Spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla remarked, "One more blow to INDI Alliance...Arvind Kejriwal has announced today that AAP will contest alone on 13 seats of Punjab and one seat of Chandigarh. It means INDI Alliance will not contest there, there won't be an alliance there...The structure of the INDI Alliance is crumbling...No mission, no vision, only commission, only corruption, only confusion, only contradiction. Rahul Gandhi's Nyay Yatra is strange. It is more of 'bye bye yatra' than Nyay Yatra. He should have taken out 'INDI jodo yatra' instead..."

Earlier, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had also announced its decision to go solo in Haryana for the Lok Sabha polls.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the Congress secured victory in eight seats, the Shiromani Akali Dal won in two seats, the Bharatiya Janata Party claimed victory in two, and the AAP secured one seat.