By PTI
AHMEDABAD: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Manish Sisodia on Wednesday claimed that the people of Gandhinagar city, the capital of Gujarat, want change, and that his party has emerged as a strong alternative to the ruling BJP and opposition Congress.
He was in Gandhinagar to take part in a roadshow ahead of the October 3 elections to the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation (GMC).
Addressing a press conference, Sisodia alleged that even as the voters of the city had given a chance to the Congress in the past, the party betrayed the people’s mandate and helped the BJP to capture the municipal body.
“Now, the people of Gandhinagar want change. It’s not that BJP has been winning since the beginning here. In the past, people of Gandhinagar had given a chance to Congress also as people were not happy with the BJP rule. But since Congress was the only option, people voted for that party to bring in a change,” said the deputy chief minister of Delhi.
“But unfortunately, Congress always remained weak. The party betrayed the people’s mandate and ultimately helped BJP to capture power. But now, AAP has emerged as a strong alternative to both Congress and BJP. I am fully confident that we will sweep this polls,” Sisodia added.
He was referring to the 2016 GMC election, when both Congress and BJP won 16 seats each out of the total 32. Both the parties had equal chances of forming the board through a draw of lots. However, at the last moment, Congress corporator Pravin Patel switched sides and helped the BJP come to power at the civic body.
“Recently, 27 AAP councillors won in Surat. The way they are working, people are now realising what a corporator can do. People just want to get their work done. They don’t want any false promises. People now have a choice in the form of AAP. I firmly believe that BJP never did anything for the state capital and its people,” Sisodia claimed.
He added that instead of seeking votes on religious or caste lines, AAP will seek votes only on the basis of the party’s performance. Polls to the Gandhinagar civic body are being held almost six months after they were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
As per the schedule, polling for the GMC with 44 seats in 11 wards will be held between 7 am and 6 pm on Sunday. The counting of votes and declaration of result will be done on October 5.