Former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) supremo H.D. Deve Gowda wrote a letter to Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday, describing the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) victory in the Delhi Assembly elections as “a remarkably good sign in Indian politics” that focus on development pays off.
Speaking further on the matter at the national executive meet of the JD(S), he said that the Delhi results bring hope of the continued relevance of regional parties. He urged party workers to learn from Mr. Kejriwal. “The people of Delhi have given their mandate to a regional party without getting influenced by caste or religion. This should be an inspiration to us here and we should all now focus on the 2023 elections,” he said.
Mr. Gowda said the AAP victory had assured the rest of India yet again that “desperate acts of communal polarisation has limited currency”. Hailing the developmental initiatives taken up by Mr. Kejriwal in the national capital, he said, “Talk of your government’s good work in the health and education sectors has reached the corners of Karnataka and the rest of India too.”
His son and former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, in a series of tweets, said the people of Delhi had shown that “fascist ideology” would never win their hearts. Calling Mr. Kejriwal a leader who has heralded development, Mr. Kumaraswamy said the public had taught a lesson to those labelling the AAP leader a “terrorist”.
Mr. Kumaraswamy also said the “mature voter of Delhi” had held out against the might of the BJP, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and the entire Union government on its side. “By upholding the necessity of a regional party, the people of Delhi have also set a model by clearly stating that development is their only priority,” he said in another tweet.
