By Express News Service
BHOPAL: While Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is working hard to broaden the Aam Aadmi Party’s base in poll-bound Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Uttar Pradesh, his lookalike is tantalising the taste buds of foodies in Gwalior.
Meet Gaurav Gupta, the chaat seller. He is backer of Kejriwal’s bete noire, Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The 45-year-old has been running the Guptaji Ki Swadishth Chaat stall in the crowded Moti Mahal area for 10-12 years. While the Delhi CM is known for his resolve to make life better for the common man, his lookalike specialises in delighting them with fares like papadi chaat, palak papadi, samosas, meetha samosas and dahi vadas.
The Class X dropout remembers fondly how his friends told him that he was a ‘duplicate’ of the Delhi CM. “In the last few months, social media has made me famous as a duplicate of Kejriwal. My stall is often called Kejriwal’s chaat stall. Even the number of daily customers has grown by 30-40% owing to my videos doing the rounds on social media,” said Gupta.
Gupta, father of a daughter and a son, originally hails from UP’s Auraiya district. He has been in Gwalior for decades, after his father shifted here to sell jaljeera water in used liquor bottles. “My father has returned to UP, but we’ve made Gwalior our home,” he said.
Hailing from a family which has long been a BJP supporter, Gupta says he backs PM Modi, but is also a fan of Kejriwal’s honest politics. “Arvind Kejriwal is one of the most honest politicians in the country and I’m happy that I’m his lookalike,” he said proudly.
Maintaining that he doesn’t want to join politics, Gupta said after he became famous as Kejriwal’s lookalike, local AAP workers requested him to join their party. “I refused. I’m happy with daily earnings of `700-`800. I want the PM and the CM to visit my stall,” Gupta said.
