'Like milking an ox…': AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal reflects on Gujarat poll result
Gujarat election 2022: The Aam Aadmi Party won five seats and claimed a 13 per cent vote share in the poll in prime minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party's stronghold.
Aam Aadmi Party boss Arvind Kejriwal has hailed his party's performance in this month's Gujarat Assembly election - in which it won five seats and 13 per cent of the vote share - and compared it (and the challenge of breaking into prime minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party's stronghold) to 'milking an ox'. Addressing the AAP's National Council on Sunday, the Delhi chief minister also underlined the party's standout year in elections.
"In one year we got Punjab, won Municipal Corporation of Delhi, two MLAs in Goa and five MLAs with 14 (sic) per cent vote share in Gujarat. In reference to Gujarat success, one person told me I milked an ox. Everyone can milk a cow…!"
Kejriwal claimed the AAP would dislodge the BJP from power in Gujara in 2027, as it did in Punjab (where it defeated the then ruling Congress) earlier this year.
"Aam Aadmi Party formed Punjab government in its second foray... Don't worry, we will certainly form our government in Gujarat also in 2027," he said.
READ | AAP spells out national ambitions at party meet
In 2017, the AAP contested 29 of Gujarat's 182 seats and 112 of Punjab's 117.
In Gujarat the party slipped to defeat after losing all 29 election deposits. In Punjab, it won 20 seats to become the main opposition party to the Congress.
Fast-forward five years and the AAP claimed a stunning win in Punjab, winning 92 seats to defeat the Congress (18 seats) and the BJP (two).
In Gujarat the party went from zero from 29 seats contested to five from 180.
Full Coverage | 2022 Gujarat Assembly election
In between the 2022 Punjab and Gujarat elections, the AAP also claimed a massive win in the Delhi civic polls, ending the BJP's 15-year control of the municipal corporation.
Earlier this year the AAP also claimed two seats and a 6.3 per cent vote share in Goa and that was key moment, even though the party did not win power.
READ | Vote split not key behind BJP’s win in Gujarat: Poll arithmetic decoded
That plus the win in Punjab and the five seats in Gujarat meant the AAP now had enough representation nationwide to be recognised as a 'national party' - necessary as Kejriwal plans a run at Modi and the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
The AAP's rise in such a short time is due to 'our ideology and work', he added.
"I have a vision for... AAP is a medium that will help achieve this. I envision an India that is a global education hub... no one sleeps hungry... underprivileged get top class education and healthcare and become rich," Kejriwal had said.
"In our vision for India, there is no scope for caste-religion divides... if the nation can't unite it won't be able to progress. If any party or organisation tries to divide the society, they do not want to make the country progress..."
With input from PTI