AAP supports Jignesh Mevani; will not field candidate against him

NEW DELHI: On the first day of PM Narendra Modi's Gujarat campaign, the Aam Admi Party announced its support for the independent, Congress backed Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani. The party has decided to not file any candidate against Mevani, who is contesting election from the Vadgam Assembly constituency in Gujarat. The Vadgam seat in Banaskantha district is reserved for scheduled castes.

"The AAP has decided not to field any candidate from Vadgam from where Dalit protest leader Jignesh Mevani is contesting as an Independent candidate," the party observed.

The Congress has supported Mevani's candidature and asked its sitting MLA Manibhai Vaghela not to contest from the seat as part of an agreement reached with the Dalit leader.

Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal extended best wishes to the 34-year-old Dalit activist. "Best wishes, Jignesh," Kejriwal wrote on micro-blogging site Twitter. According to part sources, the AAP supremo wants Mevani to get all the votes from the Dalits.

Mevani had also taken to Twitter to announce his candidature. He wrote, "Friends, I'm contesting from the Vadgam-11 seat of Banaskantha district of Gujarat as an independent candidate. We shall fight, we shall win."

"All political parties opposed to the BJP are saying that Jignesh Mevani is a symbol of struggle against the ruling BJP, and they believe the contest should be between these two people only. We have appealed to all political parties to support me," Mevani said. In response to the AAP's support, Mevani welcomed the move and thanked CM Kejriwal for his wishes. However, the party also asserted that this pre-election decision is a strategic step and there would be no alliance with the Congress.