Kejriwal AAP’s Punjab CM face? Sisodia sparks speculation
Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia at a rally in the support of AAP candidate Narinder Singh Shergill in Mohali on Tuesday. — Tribune photo: Vicky Gharu
Mohali/Patiala, January
You vote thinking that you are voting to make Arvind Kejriwal as the chief minister (of Punjab).
Your vote is for Kejriwal," Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said, addressing a public gathering at Balongi. "People are asking me who the chief minister of Punjab would be. I want to say one thing here — that you should believe that Arvind Kejriwal is going to be Punjab's CM…No matter who’s the chief minister, it will be Kejriwal's responsibility to get all the promises honoured. That, I guarantee."
'The cat is out of the bag'
The statement has drawn criticism from rival parties. Punjab's Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal claimed the statement had "exposed" AAP's intentions.
"By asking people to vote for Kejriwal as Punjab CM, Manish Sisodia has exposed their plan. It proves it doesn't trust Punjabis," Badal said.
"Cat is out of the bag. Recent events prove that Kejri wanted to be CM all along & was only fooling people with misleading statements," Badal said in a tweet. "With Haryanvi Kejriwal as CM candidate, what will be fate of SYL, Chd as well as Punjabi speaking areas of Punjab still left in Haryana?"
"@ArvindKejriwal will never protect the interests of Punjab. His track record speaks for itself. He betrayed Punjab on SYL."
"@ArvindKejriwal is fond of U turns & lies. He earlier said that a Punjabi will be party CM candidate. Now he has jumped into fray himself."
Patiala MLA Preneet Kaur called it a “total manipulation of the state electorate”.
Patiala Parliamentarian Dharamvira Gandhi — an AAP rebel — said the party could be trying to “gauge the public’s mood”.
“It could just be a attempt to create media hype around Kejriwal and keep him in the news. But if they mean it, it is not only disrespectful to the mandate he got in Delhi — where he would be running away from responsibility for the second time — but also to the political capabilities and maturity of Punjab and its people,” he said.
Punjab Congress chief Capt Amarinder Singh also said in a tweet: "After months of beating around the bush, truth of @ArvindKejriwal and his nefarious ambitions comes out! What a sneaky little fellow!"