Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Bhagwant Mann visited the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad on Saturday, 2 April. The two leaders paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi and also spun the charkha at the ashram.
Kejriwal and Mann are on a two-day visit to Ahmedabad as part of the party's outreach ahead of the Gujarat Assembly elections slated for later this year. They are also expected to conduct a roadshow, which the party is calling the 'Tiranga Yatra'.
"I feel gratitude to be born in the same country as Gandhiji. This is my first visit since I became Delhi Chief Minister. But I used to come here as an activist as well [sic]," Kejriwal said.
He also refused to answer political questions from the media, saying, "Ye pavitra sthaan hai. Rajneeti ki batein bahar." (This is a pure place. All political talks will be done outside.)
"This Ashram is a spiritual place. It feels like Gandhi ji's soul resides here. I also feel spiritual on coming here [sic]," Kejriwal wrote in the visitor's book at the ashram.
Meanwhile, Bhagwant Mann said his mother and grandmother used to spin the charkha.
"I come from a land of freedom fighters, Punjab. I got to see a lot here. Gandhi Ji's letters and the various movements he spearheaded. Charkha is part of every other household in Punjab. My mother and grandmother also use it. I have seen the Charkha being used since my childhood. We are nationalist people and we love the nation. This is my first visit to Gujarat since I became Punjab CM [sic]."
Participating at the 'Tiranga Yatra' roadshow after Samabarmati visit, Kejriwal urged citizens to "Give AAP a chance." Ahead of the roadshow, he said, "In Delhi we have finished corruption and in Punjab, Bhagwant Mann finished corruption in ten days."
Mann also said at the roadshow, "...Delhi and Punjab are sorted, now we are preparing for Gujarat."
The two leaders are also scheduled to visit Ahmedabad's Swaminarayan temple on Sunday.
AAP's Mission Gujarat
Riding high on its landslide victory in Punjab, Kejriwal's party is eyeing the Assembly elections in Gujarat next. The AAP performed well in the local body polls held in March 2021, winning 42 seats in total.
The 2017 Assembly elections, however, were a dull show for the party as it failed to win a single seat with most of its candidates losing their deposits.
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