AAP chief punched during South Delhi roadshow

NEW DELHI: The chief of the Aam Aadmi Party, Arvind Kejriwal, was attacked by an unidentified person Friday during a roadshow in Dakshinpuri area of South Delhi, Indian media reported. According to the Press Trust of India, the attacker punched Kejriwal on his back and tried to slap him when the former chief minister was shaking hands with supporters. Kejriwal has blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the assault. “Some people are ready to go to any extent to become Prime Minister. Let them do whatever they are doing. Our religion teaches us non-violence. If we raise our hands, this movement will come to an end,” Kejriwal was quoted as saying. The attacker was reportedly thrashed by AAP workers and handed over to the police.

Appealing for calm, the AAP leader asked his supporters not to indulge in any violence. This is not the first time the AAP leader has been attacked physically. During his election rally in Haryana on March 28, he was attacked by a man who claimed to be a supporter of anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare. India, the world's largest democracy, is set to go to general election from April 7, a five-week contest widely forecast to bring the BJP under Modi to power. Opinion polls show Modi holds a large advantage over his rivals However, a new movement with national ambitions, the anti-corruption AAP led by former tax inspector Kejriwal, will also be an unpredictable element in this year’s polls. Just over a year since its formation, the party won enough seats in December’s Delhi state elections to take power in what was seen as a political earthquake in the graft-plagued nation. No single party has won a parliamentary majority since 1989 and the electorate has fractured in successive decades, giving often populist regional leaders immense power at the national level.