Varanasi, April 15 – Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday arrived in the holy city for a month-long campaign and was greeted with posters that accused him of being a ‘deserter’, an apparent reference to his resignation as Delhi Chief Minister within 49 days of taking charge.
Kejriwal, who will fight BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi from Varanasi Lok Sabha seat, reached the city this morning by train and was welcomed by his supporters who had gathered at Cantt railway station here in large numbers.
While AAP supporters welcomed Kejriwal with flowers, there were also posters in and outside the railway station that labelled the former Delhi chief minister as ‘bhagoda’ (deserter). AAP supporters removed many such posters, but tight police security ensured that there were no untoward action.
There have been many instances of Kejriwal being assaulted during his poll campaign in Delhi while during his last Varanasi visit black ink was thrown at him and other AAP leaders.
Many train commuters, however, were heard complaining to police and railway officials about inconvenience caused to them due to huge crowd and police presence at the railway station, which is as such very crowded in the morning hours here.
Kejriwal, who is accompanied by his family members, is expected to spend almost a month in Varanasi, where nomination filing would begin on April 17 and the polling would take place on May 12.
He is also expected to visit Amethi from where his party colleague Kumar Vishwas is pitted against Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi. According to AAP leaders, Kejriwal was likely to file his nomination here on April 23, while he may go to Amethi for campaigning between April 20-22.
-INDIA TODAY
