Ink attack, eggs, lathicharge mar Arvind Kejriwal’s Varanasi sojourn

Mangalore Today News Network

Varanasi, March 25, 2014: An egg and black ink were hurled at Arvind Kejriwal, chief of the Aam Aadmi Party, in different places amid protests as he toured the temple town of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh today.

Mr Kejriwal will this evening ask the people of Varanasi whether he should contest from here against the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. As he went around the town, visiting temples and taking a dip in the Ganga river, the AAP chief came up against protesters who raised slogans against him and in praise of Mr Modi.

Mr Kejriwal arrived in Varanasi by train this morning along with about 50 workers. After bathing in the Ganga at the Bhainsasur Ghat, he told reporters, "Fighting against Modi is a small thing. Saving the country from corruption is a big issue now. I prayed to God to give me the strength to fight and save the country." 

He visited various temples. Emerging from the famous Vishwanath temple with sandlewood paste smeared on his forehead, Mr Kejriwal smiled even as the protests continued.

Later in the day, in an exclusive interview, Mr Kejriwal told NDTV, "Don’t see Banaras (Varanasi) as a losing battle," and added that "This election is going to be the turning point in the politics of India. In 2014, the people must defeat Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi."

The BJP’s decision to have Mr Modi run for the Lok Sabha from Varanasi is designed to enthuse voters in India’s largest state to support the party. Mr Modi, who has never contested a national election, will also be contesting from a second seat - Vadodara in his home state Gujarat.  

Like Mr Modi, Mr Kejriwal has never contested a national election. But while Mr Modi is a veteran of many state elections, Mr Kejriwal contested his first in December last year, earning the sobriquet of giant-killer by defeating Delhi’s chief minister Sheila Dikshit by a massive margin.
 
Earlier this month, Mr Kejriwal had conducted a controversial tour of Gujarat; he said he wanted to audit the development that the BJP routinely invokes to illustrate Mr Modi’s competence in his four terms as chief minister.

Unsurprisingly, Mr Kejriwal said the claims didn’t check out and that the super-state that Mr Modi claims to have created exists only for the wealthy and industrialists.

The Congress has not named its Varanasi candidate yet but has promised to give Mr Modi a tough fight.