New Delhi [India], January 23 : The fight for the Delhi assembly polls intensified on Thursday with leaders of both parties- Aam Admi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders attacking each other over a host of issues.
AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal, BJP National President JP Nadda, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami were among the main leaders who held rallies on Thursday in the run to the Delhi assembly polls. The AAP is eyeing a third term while the BJP is leaving no stone unturned to wrest back power from the ruling party.
Arvind Kejriwal said that his priority will be to employ the youths, assuring them to eliminate unemployment in Delhi.
"In the next 5 years, my priority will be to provide as much employment as possible. Our team is already working on the planning, and I hope that within 5 years, we will eliminate unemployment in Delhi," Kejriwal said.
He said that in the last 10 years, his government has made every effort to resolve the problems faced by common people in their lives.
"We have worked extensively in areas such as education, healthcare, electricity, water, roads, etc. However, it saddens me that our children, despite being educated, are sitting at home looking for jobs. Often, these children fall into bad company and get involved in crime, from which it becomes difficult to bring them back," he stated.
AAP MP Raghav Chadha stressed that the party will fulfil its promise of employing the youth.
He added, "And that is why I feel that the biggest priority should be employment. If employment comes into the hands of the youth, then the country will be strong. So I feel that the promise of employment made by the Aam Aadmi Party today is a very important promise and the youth of Delhi will definitely like this promise. We do what we say, so we will definitely fulfil our promise."
Training his guns on AAP, and Arvind Kejriwal, Nadda accused them of widespread corruption and failures in governance.
Speaking at a campaign for the Delhi Assembly Election in Uttam Nagar, Nadda highlighted various alleged scams, including a Rs 28,000 crore fraud in the Delhi Jal Board and a Rs 2,800 crore liquor scam, criticizing AAP for worsening the situation in Delhi.
Nadda criticized the AAP-led Delhi government for neglecting the city's development, stating, "If there is a national-level competition for lying, Kejriwal will come first. But the people of Delhi have now woken up. There are heaps of garbage everywhere, what picture are they painting of Delhi?"
He also referred to Kejriwal's promises to clean the Yamuna, claiming that the project had been marred by corruption. "He (Kejriwal) said he will clean the Yamuna, a scam of Rs 7,000-8,000 crore has been done... Prime Minister Modi sent 300 new buses, electric buses, and by December 2025, 2026 new electric buses will be given," Nadda said.
Joining his colleague, CM Yogi accused the AAP of providing Bangladeshi infiltrators are being provided with Aadhaar cards.
Addressing a public rally here, CM Yogi said, "These people have turned Delhi into a garbage dump. These days Arvind Kejriwal is repeatedly talking about Uttar Pradesh, but he should not forget that now people are looking at Uttar Pradesh as a model...They settled Bangladeshi infiltrators, and Rohingyas here. These Bangladeshi infiltrators are being given Aadhaar cards through Aadhaar-making machines in the houses of Aam Aadmi Party leaders... Today, go and see the roads of Delhi and Noida, you will see the difference."
The Delhi Assembly elections will take place in a single phase on February 5, and the counting of votes is set for February 8. A total of 699 candidates are competing for the 70 assembly seats in Delhi.
The Congress, which was in power for 15 consecutive years in Delhi, has suffered setbacks in the last two assembly elections and has failed to win any seats. In contrast, the AAP dominated the 2015 and 2020 assembly elections by winning 67 and 62 seats, respectively, out of a total of 70 seats, while the BJP got only three and eight seats in these elections.