Guwahati: Lawyer and social worker Amit Palekar was announced as the Aam Aadmi Party’s chief ministerial candidate for the 2018 assembly elections in Goa on Wednesday.
Mr Palekar belongs to the OBC Bhandari caste, which makes up roughly 35% of Goa’s population. He made headlines recently when he went on a hunger strike to protest unlawful development at a heritage site in Old Goa.
The 46-year-old, who joined the AAP in October, is running for the party’s seat in the St Cruz Assembly constituency, which is now held by the BJP.
At a gathering in Panaji, Mr. Kejriwal and Mr. Palekar hugged following the announcement. Atishi, an AAP MLA, was also present.
“Goa is ready for a change, and the AAP has been gaining traction in the coastal state. The governing model in Delhi has wowed the public “Mr. Kejriwal explained. He went on to say that this time, the party had handed tickets to newcomers from all around the state.
Mr Kejriwal stated, “Keeping in mind the politics in Goa, it is extremely crucial that he is someone who is honest.”
Mr. Kejriwal further claimed that, although accounting for around 35% of Goa’s population, the Bhandari community has only had one Chief Minister in the last two and a half years, Ravi Naik.
In response to accusations that the party was engaging in caste politics, he stated that they were merely “correcting” other parties’ caste politics.
The AAP has announced that it will run in the February 14 elections for all 40 seats in the BJP-ruled state. The Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Shiv Sena are also in the race this time, in addition to the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress.
Following a televoting drive among electors, AAP announced MP and senior leader Bhagwant Mann as its chief minister candidate in Punjab.