This Article is From Feb 11, 2015

Delhi: Will Be People's Victory, Not Mine, Says Arvind Kejriwal

Delhi: Will Be People's Victory, Not Mine, Says Arvind Kejriwal

AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal poses with his electoral identity card outside a polling station before casting his vote for the Delhi state assembly election

New Delhi:

As Delhi votes today, the attention-grabber is Arvind Kejriwal who is leading the city's newest political party.

His Aam Admi Party (AAP) is expected to play spoiler in a fight between the incumbent Congress and the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Mr Kejriwal, 44, said this morning after casting his vote, "I am very confident of the results. It will not be my victory but that of the people." He added  that he will meditate for the next two days and "return on December 7". The results will be counted on the 8th (Sunday).

Mr Kejriwal has chosen New Delhi as his constituency, a bold move that places him in direct competition with Sheila Dikshit, the 75-year-old chief minister who is looking for a record fourth term. The BJP has fielded former Delhi chief Vijender Gupta for the same area.

Nearly 1.2 crore residents of the capital are expected to choose representatives to the 70-member Delhi Assembly.

Experts will use the results to extrapolate the possible outcome of the national elections, due by May.

Mr Kejriwal has campaigned against endemic and systemic corruption. His Aam Aadmi Party hopes to capitalize on the disillusionment with the two major political parties by offering what it claims will be an honest administration which takes the pressing problems of the city as its priority.

Mr Kejriwal's one-year-old party constitutes and is flanked by an army of volunteers who in recent weeks have trudged through the alleys of the city's poorest neighborhoods to tap the deep vein of dissatisfaction that has gripped Delhi residents, particularly over corruption and the soaring cost of living.

While campaigning, Mr Kejriwal has dramatically brandished his party's election symbol, the broom while vowing to "sweep out the rubbish that has accumulated over the decades."
 

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