This Article is From Oct 09, 2012

BJP attacks Arvind Kejriwal, says he is weakening fight against Congress

New Delhi: Delhi BJP leader Vijay Goel today hit out at anti-corruption activist and newly-minted politician Arvind Kejriwal saying he was weakening the fight against the Congress. "Kejriwal's attack on the Congress too has politics behind it," Mr Goel said.

Mr Kejriwal had hijacked a BJP protest against high electricity bill in Delhi yesterday. When invited on the stage by the BJP leader, Mr Kejriwal turned on the BJP, saying that it was collaborating with the Congress to "loot the people". Mr Kejriwal was also at the same venue to protest what he called inflated power bills. Mr Goel had said that he would welcome anyone who was with the BJP in its fight against the rising prices of power and water.

The attack on Mr Kejriwal could have been prompted by the fact that he was eating into the Opposition space that the the BJP wants to occupy to take on the Congress government in Delhi. The state goes to election next year.

Ever since Mr Kejriwal has announced the launch of his political party, there has been speculation that Delhi will be his first electoral battleground. This was virtually confirmed by his colleagues yesterday. Analysts have been pointing out that with his popular appeal and unorthodox political tactics, Mr Kejriwal could hurt the BJP's prospect by displacing it as the main opposition in Delhi.

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