Kejriwal aims at several targets during Sultanpur visit

LUCKNOW: Attempting to kill several birds with a single stone, ahead of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, Delhi chief minister and national convenor of Aam Aadmi Party Arvind Kejriwal arrived at Sultanpur (via Lucknow) to attend a private family function of senior party leader Sanjay Singh. Kejriwal and other senior AAP leaders refrained to speak with the media, and were seen only greeting the press, whenever any question of national importance was posed to them.
After arriving at Lucknow Amausi airport, instead of opting to come out from the VVIP exit, he came out from the public exit gate amidst loud cheer from the party cadre. He then proceeded to Sultanpur on a private vehicle of a party worker, and refused to opt for the government vehicle provided by the state government. Party spokesman Vaibhav Maheshwari, said that even in Sultanpur, the AAP convenor preferred the personal vehicle of a party worker in place of the government vehicle. Throughout his stay in Sultanpur, the Delhi CM and his ministerial colleagues (including Gopal Rai) refused to take any question.
Party insiders termed this visit of Kejriwal as a ‘political recce’ before the crucial UP assembly elections. Kejriwal emphasized on public interaction, instead of going for one-to-one interaction with any particular person. Party cadre also see this visit of Kejriwal as one, through which he is trying to gauge the mood of the voters in the politically crucially state of Uttar Pradesh.
A local party worker Mahendra Kumar of Kurebhaar block (of Sultanpur), said, “If all goes well, then the Aam Aadmi Party may launch its 2017 assembly election campaign from Sultanpur itself.” He further stated that by this, the party would be posing itself as a threat to both Congress (whose bastion Amethi is a neighboring district) and to Bharatiya Janata Party (whose sitting MP Varun Gandhi is nurturing this constituency as a part of the legacy he inherited from his father Sanjay). However, party spokesman when asked to comment on the observation made by its worker, said, “The observations are too immature, and the party has already established itself in UP.”
Explaining the local political equation, Anil Soni, who runs a cyber café in Sultanpur, said, “We personally know Sanjay Singh. But, when it comes to senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh, the identity crisis is imminent.” He further stated that at present, the poll battle would be a triangular one, involving the BJP, Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party.