From CM to PM!

New Delhi: It will not be a one-on-one fight between Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi, but AAP supremo and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will also try his luck this time for the Prime Minister’s post, making it a triangular contest.

Expecting a repeat of the miracle, Kerjriwal is hoping that his party may sweep the elections all-over the country as well, catapulting him to the Prime Minister’s chair straight from the Delhi Chief Minister’s post.

The name of Kejriwal will be announced next month, around February 15, when the party hopes to declare most of its candidates for the Lok Sabha polls.

Later in the day, Arvind Kejriwal said, “I will campaign for the party nationally, but will not contest.” He described Yogendra Yadav’s statement as made out of love for him. However, this is being seen more as part of a strategy, so as not to send out a wrong signal to the people of Delhi. Kumar Vishwas said it was premature to make the announcement yet and for now Kejriwal is concentrating on Delhi.

The party feels that Narendra Modi-Rahul Gandhi contest for the Prime Minister is an unfair choice for the people and it should be more broad-based.

AAP ideologue Yogendra Yadav declared that Arvind Kejriwal is fit to be Prime Minister.

“We have always maintained that the clash between Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi will be disastrous for the country. The country needs a better alternative. We will decide if we are capable enough to provide it. It is my dream to see Arvind Kejriwal as the Prime Minister. I think he is capable enough to lead the country. But, we have to see, what is our standing today,” declared Yogendra Yadav.

The party plans to concentrate on States like Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Haryana, Gujarat and Karnataka where it senses AAP surge. AAP leader Prashant Bhushan informed that their party will field as many candidates as they can for the Lok Sabha polls.

The party feels that the people should be given a much wider choice, as was the case in the Capital, where besides the BJP and the Congress, AAP entered the electoral fray for the first time and swept the elections, even routing Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit in her constituency.

More than the Congress, whose political graph is anyway sliding down, it is the BJP and its Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, who dreads AAP widening its horizon, as it may dim his chances of coming to power. Ever since AAP victory in Delhi, Modi is losing out space in the print media.

Interestingly, AICC General Secretary Digvijay Singh had indicated recently that it could be a three-way contest in the Lok Sabha elections. The AAP is seriously working on a credible electoral strategy to go national, just weeks ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Buzz is that Yogendra Yadav may be the AAP Chief Ministerial candidate in Haryana.

Already Arvind Kejriwal has appealed to all “honest” people from all spheres and all political parties, including the Congress and the BJP, to join his party in its fight against corruption.

Former Banker Meera Sanyal has expressed her desire to contest on AAP ticket in Mumbai. Others like Capt Gopinath and former Infosys board member V Balakrishnan in Bengaluru have also jumped on to the AAP bandwagon. Senior AAP leader Kumar Vishwas has declared his intent to take on Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi on the latter’s home-turf of Amethi parliamentary constituency in Uttar Pradesh.

A day after facing flak for choosing to take up two duplex flats on Bhagwan Das Road in the Capital, one for his home and another for his camp office, Kejriwal decided to give up that accommodation. Now he has decided to ask the Government to allot him a smaller house. This is a decision aimed at the Lok Sabha polls, where he wants to avoid any controversy that could mar his image.

“There was a lot of controversy about my new house. I have received phone calls from friends and well-wishers. So I have decided not to move to the new house. I will ask for another smaller house. We have come to cleanse politics. Like, they say, Caesar’s wife has to be beyond reproach, we have to be ready for intense scrutiny,” Kejriwal said.