The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is expecting around 100,000 people to attend Arvind Kejriwal’s swearing-in ceremony at the Ramlila Maidan today as Delhi chief minister for the third time.
Party leader Gopal Rai said the people would be allowed in from six gates – 4,5,6,7,8 and 9.
According to senior officials, around 5,000 police personnel would be deployed for security. At least 125 CCTV cameras and 12 LED screens will be set up around the site of the ceremony. There will also be at least 45,000 chairs for the attendees. There will be enough space for people to stand and watch the event, the officials said.
“Kejriwal is loved by all the people in the city. The mandate proves that. We have invited the entire city for the event,” Rai said. Kejriwal will be taking oath at the same venue for the third time.
Kejriwal has also invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seven Lok Sabha MPs from Delhi and all eight newly-elected Bharatiya Janata Party legislators. The AAP has also invited all the municipal councillors of Delhi. The new cabinet is also expected to be sworn in at 10am.
However, Modi is unlikely to attend as he will be visiting Varanasi, his Lok Sabha constituency, to inaugurate several projects.
No political leaders from outside Delhi have been invited. “The people of Delhi gave us this mandate and they are our priority,” Rai said.
“We have also invited the state party chiefs of main political parties,” AAP leader Jasmine Shah told IANS.
Avyaan Tomar, known as ‘Mini Mufflerman’ and ‘Baby Kejriwal’, will also be there at the oath ceremony. The one-year-old, dressed up like Kejriwal, was spotted at the AAP office on the day the results were declared. But he could not meet Kejriwal.
The Directorate of Education has also invited teachers to the ceremony. The AAP has also invited 50 representatives from different sectors contributing to the governance.
They included angandwadi and doorstep delivery workers, representatives of education, healthcare and infrastructure sectors, municipal cleaning staff, public transport staff, bus marshals and farmers.
Another senior party leader Manish Sisodia said these were the people who were responsible for ‘Delhi nirman’ (building).
He said they were being invited as the massive mandate was also a victory of those who dream about making Delhi better.
Speaking to IANS, one of the special guests, Geeta Devi said she felt “privileged” to be part of the list.
The 36-year old bus marshal caught a pickpocket on a bus in November and handed him to police. He was trying to steal a mobile phone from a passenger.
“I always wanted to be a police officer but could not become one. When I got to know about this work of bus marshal, I applied for it and took it up,” she said.
Another invitee is Dr Alka Choudhary, who cannot stop gushing about how proud she was of being in charge of the first Mohalla Clinic in the city.
“I would love to witness such an event and will continue to spread as much awareness as I can to make myself useful to the people of Delhi. I am proud to represent my community of Mohalla Clinic doctors who have built a unique, innovative primary healthcare model that the entire world is talking about,” Choudhary said.
Meanwhile, preparations were on in full swing yesterday at the historic Ramlila Maidan ground.
It was from here that the 51-year-old had announced his entry into politics during the Anna Hazare-led India Against Corruption movement.
The ground is under the jurisdiction of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation. The preparations, however, are being done by the Delhi government, NDMC and the Public Works Department.
The AAP begged 62 of the 70 assembly seats in the February 8 elections. The results were declared on February 11.
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