Never be ‘overconfident’, says Kejriwal as Cong. fails to wrest Haryana 

AAP chief warns party councillors against getting complacent ahead of Delhi election, asks them to stay focused on public service; BJP claims discontent brewing among people against AAP MLAs

The biggest lesson that one can learn from Tuesday’s Assembly poll results is that one should never be overconfident, said Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal, addressing party councillors here.

The former Delhi CM made the statement as Haryana threw a surprise result proving wrong the exit polls that had predicted a Congress win amid 10 years of anti-incumbency against the ruling BJP. Meanwhile, AAP drew a blank in the State.

Earlier in the run-up to the poll, the Congress and AAP had failed to stitch up an alliance, prompting the Kejriwal-led party to go solo, months after both parties jointly contested the Lok Sabha election in Haryana and Delhi.

Warning against getting complacent ahead of the Delhi Assembly poll in February next year, Mr. Kejriwal told his party councillors, “No election should be taken lightly. Each election and seat is tough.”

‘Keep city clean’

“You all have an important role in this [Delhi] election because we are in the MCD [Municipal Corporation of Delhi] and people expect cleanliness from us. Clean your areas, ensure garbage is collected, and roads are swept. If you do that, I am confident we would win,” he added.

He also shared his experience of reading the Bhagavad Gita while in jail. “The Gita teaches us to be happy with what we have today. True happiness doesn’t come from chasing power, titles, or positions. It comes from serving people,” he said. 

Terming the past two years as the “most challenging” for AAP, he praised party leaders and workers for “unwavering support” in the face of adversity. “I was jailed, Manish Sisodia was jailed, Sanjay Singh was jailed. It felt as if they were obsessed with us,” he said attacking the BJP.

‘Councillors restive’

Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva said people of Delhi were shocked to see Mr. Kejriwal giving victory tips to his party councillors on a day AAP faced a crushing defeat in the Haryana election.

“Our sources informed us that during the meeting with councillors, Kejriwal was told to review the Haryana loss rather than discussing Delhi. AAP councillors openly told Kejriwal that all works in the MCD have been stalled, and even MLAs are not offering any help, leading to public discontent,” he said.

Published - October 09, 2024 12:59 am IST