Arvind Kejriwal being welcomed by party workers in Ahmedabad on Wednesday
has landed in Narendra Modi's Gujarat this morning for a four-day tour in which, he says, he will assess whether the BJP's prime ministerial candidate has indeed achieved the development he claims he has as the state's chief minister.
Mr Kejriwal, who heads the Aam Aadmi Party, is travelling with close aides like Manish Sisodia, who said, "We've been told about Gujarat's development. So we've come here to check that out and expose the lie if it isn't true."
Ever since Mr Kejriwal resigned as Delhi chief minister last month, he has focused his attention on the general election likely to be held from April. And Narendra Modi has been the chief target in most of his election speeches, fueling speculation that he could choose to contest the Lok Sabha elections against Mr Modi.
Mr Modi has not yet indicated where he will contest from. On NDTV's special series 'Candidates 2014' last night, Mr Kejriwal said, "I am not sure whether I will contest Lok Sabha election, that is not important." (
Watch)
AAP says Mr Kejriwal's Gujarat tour, his first visit to the state, is unscheduled. "During his Uttar Pradesh tour, Kejriwal had announced that he will go to Gujarat to verify the development claims of the Narendra Modi government. As a part of that tour, a four-day unplanned tour has been chalked out," AAP's Gujarat convener Sukhdev Patel said.
Mr Patel said his party chief would for three days, pick areas to visit at random, check on the living conditions, and meet the people. He is expected to focus on the Kutch and Saurashtra regions of the state. On the fourth and last day, a Saturday, he will return to Ahmedabad and will address a rally.
Narendra Modi has designed his campaign for the national elections around the promise that he will extend what he calls his extremely successful "development model in Gujarat" to the rest of the country. His political rivals have sought to pick holes in his claims.