Gujarat: Bharatiya Tribal Party to oppose AAP nationwide

Arvind Kejriwal. File Pic

Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) chief Chhotu Vasava on Monday alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was in league with the BJP to rule over everyone, but said his party won't let that happen.

Taking a stand on breaking the alliance with the AAP, the BTP chief said, "AAP wants to rule over everyone but we won't allow that, as they are with BJP. These people donning caps were atrocious to us turban-wearers; we will oppose them nationwide."

Notably, Vasava's remarks came while AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal is on a two-day visit to Gujarat ahead of the state Assembly polls.

This came months after the AAP chief and national convenor Kejriwal held a rally in Bharuch on May 1 and addressed the 'Adivasi Sankalp Mahasammelan' jointly with Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) chief Chhotu Vasava.

Meanwhile, Kejriwal on Tuesday attacked BJP in poll-bound Gujarat and alleged that the saffron party is trying to make Congress chief Sonia Gandhi the "Prime Minister through the backdoor" and "successor" to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

His claims came while he was responding to a question about BJP leaders stating that social activist Medha Patkar would be AAP's chief ministerial candidate in the Gujarat Assembly polls.

"I have heard that BJP will make Sonia Gandhi as the PM candidate after PM Modi. Ask them what they have to say on this. Ask them that Kejriwal has alleged that you are going to make Sonia Gandhi the PM candidate and the successor to PM Modi at the national level. What do they have to say on this? The BJP is trying to make Sonia Gandhi the PM of the country through the backdoor. Ask them this question," Kejriwal said.

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The BJP has sought to make Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) founder Medha Patkar's past ties with AAP a poll issue in Gujarat. Party leaders have said that Patkar opposed Narmada project and have talked of "renewed ties" between her and AAP.

Kejriwal also alleged that the BJP "has not done anything" for the development of Gujarat and claimed it has "no programme for the next five years".

Kejriwal also claimed that the Congress party is "finished" in Gujarat. "Congress is finished. You should stop taking their questions. People no more care about their questions," Kejriwal said in response to a query.

The AAP supremo has earlier urged the people not to "waste their votes" on Congress. After its victory in the held Punjab Assembly elections earlier this year, AAP is seeking to expand its footprint in other states.

Gujarat will face assembly polls later this year.

Kejriwal has pitched AAP as the "only alternative" to the BJP in the state.

After its landslide victory in the Punjab elections, AAP is seeking to expand its footprints in other states.

AAP had made its debut in Gujarat in the 2017 Assembly polls, but could not open its account.

AAP's hopes in Gujarat have been fuelled by its performance in the February 2021 Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) polls in which BJP won 93 seats, while Aam Aadmi Party bagged 27 seats and the Congress drew a blank.

In the 2017 Assembly elections, Congress had given a scare to the ruling BJP by restricting the BJP tally to 99 and winning 77 seats on its own. There are 182 Assembly seats in Gujarat.

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