Congress won Karnataka polls on AAP manifesto: Kejriwal

New Delhi: The Congress won the Karnataka assembly elections by promising free electricity, free ration and unemployment allowance in its poll manifesto, taking cue from the Aam Aadmi Party, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Sunday.

He said the AAP has succeeded in its efforts to bring some change in the country’s political discourse as other parties are also now seeking votes on issues like education and health.

He was addressing AAP leaders who won seats in just-concluded Uttar Pradesh local body elections.

“The Aam Aadmi Party has tried to change the narrative of the country’s politics. If you look at Karnataka polls, the Congress party has won on our manifesto,” Kejriwal said.

“We said we will provide free electricity, they (Congress) also said so. We said we will provide unemployment allowance, free ration, and Rs 1,000 (per moth to women, They also said so,” he said.

The BJP is also now making such promises, he said, adding, political parties earlier used to seek vote on the basis of caste and religion.

The AAP won three Nagar Palika chairperson seats, six Nagar Panchayat chairperson seats and six Nagar Nigam councillor seats besides several wards in the urban local body polls that were held in Uttar Pradesh in two phases — on May 4 and May 11.

More than half of the AAP’s victorious candidates belonged to the minority community, according to the poll results available on the state election commission’s website.

Kejriwal congratulated the AAP’s Uttar Pradesh unit leaders, saying it was a “difficult” election as the state is considered a BJP stronghold. “You worked hard and defeated the BJP, the SP and other parties.”

Kejriwal said the AAP leaders’ victory in several seats in the local body elections is an indication that people of Uttar Pradesh “are ready for change”. “They want good governance and development in the state,” he added.