Arvind Kejriwal to campaign in Haryana
A day after the Supreme Court granted him bail in the excise policy case, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday took the first step towards taking charge of the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) political campaign in Haryana, though he is called After being in jail for six months, he is preparing to take back the reins of the administration of the capital.
The AAP convener presided over a "high-stakes" meeting with senior party leaders on Saturday to discuss plans for the October 5 Haryana polls where, according to a senior AAP leader, he will lead the party's political charge along with former deputy CM Manish Sisodia and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.
Party sources said that AAP's focus will be on building a base in each of Haryana's 90 assembly constituencies, focusing on achieving as much vote sharing as possible.
short article insert In Delhi, sources said a cabinet reshuffle to include Sisodia - both in Kejriwal's party and the government - would be the chief minister's first priority, followed by "key decisions on outstanding policy and administrative matters". This could possibly include the Chief Minister Mahila Samman Yojana, under which deserving women are entitled to a monthly payout of Rs 1000 by the government.
"Manishji's re-inclusion in the cabinet is a top priority... The chief minister is likely to formally resume his duties from the first working day of next week, i.e. Tuesday," party sources said.
In a statement, AAP said, "Fresh from jail after six months, AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal wasted no time, rallying senior leaders with a powerful victory mantra at a high-stakes meeting on Saturday."
"The party is all set to campaign to win Haryana," it added.
Among those present at the meeting were Sisodia, Sanjay Singh, Sandeep Pathak, Raghav Chadha, Gopal Rai, Atishi and Saurabh Bhardwaj.
AAP's national general secretary (organization) Sandeep Pathak said, "The Chief Minister has called a meeting of the senior leadership to discuss the campaign plan for the Haryana elections." A plan was formulated for campaigning in every assembly constituency in Haryana, Pathak said, adding that the party plans to campaign extensively in the state in the coming days.
“Ever since Hon'ble Supreme Court granted bail to Arvind Kejriwal, the enthusiasm and determination of our party workers has multiplied. They are ready to act with more energy than ever. We believe that this time, the elections in Haryana are going to be very exciting," he later told media persons.
Kejriwal will address AAP workers on Sunday morning at the party headquarters. With the party recently shifting offices from Deendayal Upadhyay Marg to Pandit Ravi Shankar Shukla Lane, this will be Kejriwal's first visit to the new headquarters. Pathak said, "The workers have been sacked... Arvind Kejriwal is going to meet them after so long."
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