We will neither take the support of the BJP or the Congress to form the government if we get suitable numbers, says Arvind Kejriwal
On whether AAP will choose to play kingmaker
I do not believe in being kingmaker. We will either form the government or sit in the opposition. We will neither take the support of the BJP or the Congress to form the government if we get suitable numbers. It is up to the people of this city to decide and we will be ready to face polls again in case there is a hung assembly and neither party can form the government.
We cannot ally with any of these parties as we are seeking a mandate as an alternative to both the BJP and the Congress. Joining hands with them in post-poll alliances will be a betrayal of the confidence people have shown in us. The fight is against both: Congress' 15-year rule at the state level and the BJP's seven-year rule at the municipal corporation level.
On the impact of Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi
Modi will have very little or no impact on the voting pattern in Delhi as he will not be the chief minister here. The competition is between Sheila Dixit and Vijay Goel and it is difficult to choose who is better. AAP has managed to become the common enemy for both these parties. You will see posters against me but not one against Sheila Dixit or Vijay Goel. This explains why we believe they are more of the same. Rahul Gandhi is a resident here and people of Delhi know what to expect.
On how he plans to take on Sheila Dixit in the New Delhi constituency
There are about 30,000 households accounting for a total of 1,12,000 votes in my constituency. We have touched base through a door-to-door campaign with 23,600 families. About 6,000 houses are beyond reach as they include those of Sonia Gandhi and LK Advani and others like them. About 12,000 families in this region have donated money to AAP, which speaks a lot for this constituency. We have the database of their email ids, phone numbers and addresses of about 55,000 voters in our database.
I am now in the process of having meetings at the booth level to prepare a manifesto at the constituency level. Each AAP candidate (there are 70 of them) will prepare a manifesto for their constituency, as there is no one-size-fits-all solution for all of them. You forget this constituency is not just about Lutyens' bungalow residents. It comprises several government servants and a lot of slum dwellers, a big one behind Rahul Gandhi's Tuglak Lane house where I had a meeting yesterday.
On the pre-poll survey results
The polls conducted by some agencies have shown us to be getting about 20% vote share. Our numbers are different. We have conducted two surveys so far and a third one is underway. According to last estimates, of the 22 constituencies polled so far, we have a vote share of 41%, 27% for the Congress and 17% for the BJP.
In my constituency, our numbers show a vote share of 24% for the BJP, 25% for Congress and 31% for me. What we need to see is whether these will convert to votes, but I expect a bigger voter turnout this time.
I do not believe in being kingmaker. We will either form the government or sit in the opposition. We will neither take the support of the BJP or the Congress to form the government if we get suitable numbers. It is up to the people of this city to decide and we will be ready to face polls again in case there is a hung assembly and neither party can form the government.
We cannot ally with any of these parties as we are seeking a mandate as an alternative to both the BJP and the Congress. Joining hands with them in post-poll alliances will be a betrayal of the confidence people have shown in us. The fight is against both: Congress' 15-year rule at the state level and the BJP's seven-year rule at the municipal corporation level.
On the impact of Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi
Modi will have very little or no impact on the voting pattern in Delhi as he will not be the chief minister here. The competition is between Sheila Dixit and Vijay Goel and it is difficult to choose who is better. AAP has managed to become the common enemy for both these parties. You will see posters against me but not one against Sheila Dixit or Vijay Goel. This explains why we believe they are more of the same. Rahul Gandhi is a resident here and people of Delhi know what to expect.
On how he plans to take on Sheila Dixit in the New Delhi constituency
There are about 30,000 households accounting for a total of 1,12,000 votes in my constituency. We have touched base through a door-to-door campaign with 23,600 families. About 6,000 houses are beyond reach as they include those of Sonia Gandhi and LK Advani and others like them. About 12,000 families in this region have donated money to AAP, which speaks a lot for this constituency. We have the database of their email ids, phone numbers and addresses of about 55,000 voters in our database.
I am now in the process of having meetings at the booth level to prepare a manifesto at the constituency level. Each AAP candidate (there are 70 of them) will prepare a manifesto for their constituency, as there is no one-size-fits-all solution for all of them. You forget this constituency is not just about Lutyens' bungalow residents. It comprises several government servants and a lot of slum dwellers, a big one behind Rahul Gandhi's Tuglak Lane house where I had a meeting yesterday.
On the pre-poll survey results
The polls conducted by some agencies have shown us to be getting about 20% vote share. Our numbers are different. We have conducted two surveys so far and a third one is underway. According to last estimates, of the 22 constituencies polled so far, we have a vote share of 41%, 27% for the Congress and 17% for the BJP.
In my constituency, our numbers show a vote share of 24% for the BJP, 25% for Congress and 31% for me. What we need to see is whether these will convert to votes, but I expect a bigger voter turnout this time.
On AAP's campaign strategy
Ours is a low-cost human capitalintensive model. We have been carrying out a door-to-door campaign where our volunteers meet every household. We discuss their issues and what they want from us. We are approaching auto rickshaws with posters to increase visibility. We have collected about Rs 10 crore.
We have targeted Rs 25 crore keeping in mind an expense of Rs 14 lakh per constituency as permitted by the election commission. We may not reach there but we should be able to garner about Rs 15 crore or so. There is an increase in funding over the past few days and this gives us hope that people are willing to get noticed and ally with AAP.
On the journey so far
One of the biggest discoveries since we came into the mainstream was how hollow the national parties were when it came to ground functioning. We realised that both the BJP and the Congress have lost their ground support and touch with citizens. There is simply no organisation support. Second, cynicism is giving way to hope.
The biggest fear we had at the beginning was about people power: how we would get volunteers and people to help us given we were competing with age-old parties who had cadre-based workers and volunteers built over the years. There are at least two constituencies in East Delhi where the entire workforce have shifted base to AAP.
On five problems that need to be fixed
One, price rises via government intervention and tackling supplies by cracking hoarders; two, unemployment for which there is no quickfix solution; three, corruption by bringing in the Lokpal Bill and enacting it; four, women safety by starting women safety cells, which are already a part of our organisation; and, five, cleanliness by getting the MCD to work and deliver.
On the firsts for the AAP
AAP was a result of a campaign against corruption and the demand for Jan Lokpal. There are lots of things we have evolved that would be the first for any political party in this country.
These include: Details of every candidate and the process of selection that have been put out on our website; all money sources and donations from Rs 5 to Rs 10 lakh are taken through cheque with receipts, with details of the donor on the website; preparing separate manifestoes for each constituency; and decentralisation of power where mohalla sabhas just like gram sabhas in villages will take decisions on how money would be spent.
Ours is a low-cost human capitalintensive model. We have been carrying out a door-to-door campaign where our volunteers meet every household. We discuss their issues and what they want from us. We are approaching auto rickshaws with posters to increase visibility. We have collected about Rs 10 crore.
We have targeted Rs 25 crore keeping in mind an expense of Rs 14 lakh per constituency as permitted by the election commission. We may not reach there but we should be able to garner about Rs 15 crore or so. There is an increase in funding over the past few days and this gives us hope that people are willing to get noticed and ally with AAP.
On the journey so far
One of the biggest discoveries since we came into the mainstream was how hollow the national parties were when it came to ground functioning. We realised that both the BJP and the Congress have lost their ground support and touch with citizens. There is simply no organisation support. Second, cynicism is giving way to hope.
The biggest fear we had at the beginning was about people power: how we would get volunteers and people to help us given we were competing with age-old parties who had cadre-based workers and volunteers built over the years. There are at least two constituencies in East Delhi where the entire workforce have shifted base to AAP.
On five problems that need to be fixed
One, price rises via government intervention and tackling supplies by cracking hoarders; two, unemployment for which there is no quickfix solution; three, corruption by bringing in the Lokpal Bill and enacting it; four, women safety by starting women safety cells, which are already a part of our organisation; and, five, cleanliness by getting the MCD to work and deliver.
On the firsts for the AAP
AAP was a result of a campaign against corruption and the demand for Jan Lokpal. There are lots of things we have evolved that would be the first for any political party in this country.
These include: Details of every candidate and the process of selection that have been put out on our website; all money sources and donations from Rs 5 to Rs 10 lakh are taken through cheque with receipts, with details of the donor on the website; preparing separate manifestoes for each constituency; and decentralisation of power where mohalla sabhas just like gram sabhas in villages will take decisions on how money would be spent.
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