Varanasi: Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal is all set to make one of the most interesting poll-related announcements today. For the former chief minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal, ‘Battle Varanasi’ will be no less than an epic battle.
Kejriwal has arrived in Varanasi and sources say he will drive to the Kaal Bhairav temple. Bhairav is the shahr kotwal (city inspector), and everyone seek his blessings before a new venture.
He will interact with morning walkers at some parks, besides calling on retired academics and current professors at the Banaras Hindu University.
As a morning train brings Kejriwal into this ancient city on the banks of the Ganges, around 350 young men and women spread out in Varanasi are planning a phaadu debut (rocking debut) for their leader.
This team of 25-something is busy tailoring a locally-flavored winning strategy which they say will humble” Modi when the Hindu holy city votes for its next Lok Sabha representative on May 12.
And as they speak of a 99 percent surety of the former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal taking on the BJP heavyweight, they say confidently that the AAP leader will preside over the BJP’s political waterloo.
There is a team of volunteers led by Saman Qureshi from New Delhi which is holding 20-minute ‘nukkad nataks’, largely near the Beniyabagh ground where Kejriwal will hold his rally on Tuesday.
Saman, a niece of former chief election commissioner SY Qureshi, said a news agency that by Monday evening they would have completed 150 street skits in just 10 days.
Other volunteers in the ‘nukkad natak’ group come from Allahabad, Varanasi and Lucknow. For the 350-odd volunteers now in Varanasi who depend on complimentary accommodation and food from locals, it is time to get cracking.
Vaibhav Maheshwari, who handles the media for the AAP in Uttar Pradesh, says the Kejriwal-Modi battle will not be just symbolism.
Bureau Report
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