Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal waves to his supporters upon his arrival to file his nomination for the general election in the northern city of Varanasi yesterday.

 

Agencies/Varanasi

 

Firebrand anti-corruption champion Arvind Kejriwal accused his election rivals yesterday of selling out to big business by accepting hundreds of millions of dollars to bankroll their campaigns.

As he arrived in Varanasi to file his nomination papers and line up a contest against Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, Kejriwal said India’s democratic future was at stake in the ongoing elections.

“The people of India have to decide what kind of democracy they want,” the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) told hundreds of supporters in the holy city on the banks of the Ganges.

“Do you want a democracy of neighbourhoods, streets and villages or a helicopter democracy?” he said in a jibe at Modi who is due to fly in today to file his nomination, and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi.

Both the BJP and Congress have assembled massive warchests for the six-week election, filing the airwaves and dominating newspaper frontpages with advertisements.

While there have been no official figures, Kejriwal said the parties had spent around Rs150bn (around $2.5bn) on adverts.

“You turn on the TV or you look at the papers or the billboards and you see the political adverts everywhere,” he said.

“My friends, where are they getting this money from?

“Whoever gives them (the money), after the elections they will want their money back and more. And where will this money come from? From the pockets of you and me.

“We have to end this kind of democracy, and establish the rule of the people.”

It took Kejriwal, 45, about three hours to cover just a 3km distance to the district magistrate's office where he filed the papers in the company of senior party colleagues including Manish Sisodia.

All along the route, the AAP leader repeatedly halted to address crowds, underlining that Modi, if he won the election in Varanasi, would become as scarce as Gandhi in Amethi.

"The people of Kashi (Varanasi) should also not get fooled like the people in Amethi have been fooled for years," he thundered as his vehicle crawled through parts of the congested city.

Gandhi is seeking re-election from Amethi.

Kejriwal said Varanasi should elect an MP with whom they can relate.

"This time people have to end the politics of corporates and establish a government of the people. We are on the path of truth, that is why God is with us," he said.

Barring two places where 10-15 people shouted "pro-Modi" slogans, it was an AAP show.

One man who did not give his name said: "My heart bleeds for this man. He is a good man. But he can't win against Modi."

Another resident, Salim Siddiqui, was vocally pro-Kejriwal.

"I don't think Kejriwal can be called an 'outsider'. Even Modi is. Even Murli Manohar Joshi (who won the 2009 election here) was.

"And why should we pull up Kejriwal for resigning as the Delhi chief minister? He quit on principles. If you ask me, even Modi should have quit after the Gujarat riots (in 2002)."

The Varanasi battle became the most watched electoral contest after Kejriwal announced his candidature against Modi, saying there was a need to defeat both Modi and Gandhi in Amethi.

Kejriwal, a former tax inspector, stunned Indian politics in December when he came to power in Delhi’s state elections on a wave of growing voter anger over levels of corruption.

However his decision to quit as the capital’s chief minister after only 49 days is seen as having undermined much of his popularity and few analysts expect him to beat Modi.

With 1.6mn voters, Varanasi goes to the polls on May 12 - on the last day of the staggered balloting that began on April 7. The nationwide results will be known on May 16.