Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Thursday that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) made its presence felt in Madhya Pradesh by winning a Mayoral seat in Singrauli last year, and now it will enter the state’s Assembly.
The 230-member Madhya Pradesh Assembly goes to the polls on November 17.
Participating in a road show to campaign for AAP candidate Rani Agrawal in Singrauli, Kejriwal said the party has made its presence felt in several states in the past few years, which is the reason the ruling BJP is worried about it.
“I don’t know if I will be in jail when the MP poll results will be announced on December 3, but I would be happy if people elect an AAP candidate from Singrauli. Even if I am in jail, this news will please me enough,” Kejriwal said.
Notably, Kejriwal attended the road show in Singrauli defying the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) summon in connection with the Delhi excise policy case on Thursday.
Kejriwal, who was accompanied by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, said, “The BJP is threatening to put me in jail. I am not worried about jail because I am among those who emerged from the Ramlila Maidan.”
Attacking the BJP over the ED summon, Kejriwal said, “You can arrest my body, but not my vision. Those who were sitting with me at the Ramlila Maidan are now in jail. But I am not worried about it."
It may be noted that AAP had made its presence in Madhya Pradesh one-and-a-half years back when it won the Mayoral seat in Singrauli, the hub of coal mines in the state.
After winning the Mayoral election, Rani Agrawal has emerged as a strong face for the AAP, which is the reason the party has high hopes of succeeding in the Assembly elections from here.
As a result, the Singrauli Assembly seat has became an important political battleground in Madhya Pradesh. Known for being a major industrial hub housing power plants and coal mines, contributing significantly to the country's energy production, Singrauli is considered a semi-urban seat which is poised for a high-stake contest.
The BJP has fielded Ramniwas Shah, while the Congress has fielded Renu Shah from Singrauli.
Rani Agrawal belongs to the Bania community who form a sizable population in the constituency dominated by Brahmin and Khatriya voters.