FILE: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal with AAP leaders (Press Trust of India photo)
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi hit the campaign trail in Bihar, Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party has announced that it is sending a team to the election-bound state with a specific "anti-BJP, anti-PM Modi" brief.
The party's Ashutosh said on Saturday morning that the 20-member team would leave soon for Bihar, where it will campaign not in favour of any party, but to "ensure the defeat of the BJP."
The party has already announced that it will not contest the Bihar assembly elections due by October, to ensure that anti-BJP votes are not divided.
Sharad Yadav, who heads the ruling Janata Dal (United) or JD(U) in Bihar, said, "We welcome AAP's announcement. We too had gone to Varanasi." In the national election last year, Mr Kejriwal had contested against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Varanasi.
The JD(U)'s Nitish Kumar, who is Bihar Chief Minister, has in recent days seemed to strike up a warm friendship with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
In multiple meetings between the two chief ministers, there reportedly has been talk that Mr Kejriwal could address a rally in Bihar for Mr Kumar. There are also said to be plans to organise a Nitish Kumar rally in Delhi where the two could share stage.
AAP's Ashutosh said the team for Bihar would be led by Dilip Pandey, who recently alleged that a Delhi Police van tried to run him over while his party was protesting against the murder of a teen in the capital. "PM Modi has made Delhi a police state... Anybody who opposes Modi will be beaten up," Ashutosh alleged.
AAP has declared war on PM Modi's government, alleging that it is scuttling all its efforts at governing Delhi through the Centre's representative in the capital, Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung.
In Bihar, Nitish Kumar has stitched together an anti-BJP coalition with Rashtriya Janata Dal's Lalu Prasad, a rival for years, and the Congress.