Today in Politics: Arvind Kejriwal in Chhattisgarh, will Delhi CM address recent hiccup in AAP-Cong ties?

A day after the BJP announced 21 candidates for the Chhattisgarh Assembly elections later this year, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will be in the poll-bound state today for a daylong visit, his third in five months.

According to AAP state president Komal Hupendi, Kejriwal will be accompanied by Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, and the two will address an Aam Aadmi Party workers' convention at Jainam Manas Bhavan opposite Raipur airport at midday. Kejriwal would also issue "guarantee cards" to Chhattisgarh residents outlining what his party will do if elected.

At a rally in Bilaspur last month, Kejriwal stated that if the AAP is elected in Chhattisgarh, it will give six services, generally for free, similar to those provided in Delhi. "We will give free electricity, free magnificent schools like in Delhi where children of rich and poor study together, free hospitals and clinics, free bus travel for women, free holy trips to religious places for senior citizens, and employment," Kejriwal stated at the time. Kejriwal attacked both the BJP and the Congress, which are in power in the state, at a rally in Raipur in March. "Chhattisgarh is the only state in India that has been blessed by God with everything, such as rivers, mountains, forests, herbs, mines, and minerals, but it is still the poorest." People in our country are good, but leaders and (political) parties are not. "Both the Congress and the BJP robbed you," he continued.

After Delhi Congress leader Alka Lamba said after a meeting with the Congress high command that the party had been instructed to begin work on the seven parliamentary seats, an AAP spokesperson said there was no point in attending the INDIA alliance meeting and "wasting time" if the Congress had decided not to form an alliance. Kejriwal's comments will be scrutinised for any hints of what he is thinking.

The Haryana government will file an affidavit in the court registry about the demolition drive conducted in Nuh following the recent communal violence there. The Punjab and Haryana High Court questioned the demolition effort on August 7, questioning whether the properties of a "specific community" were targeted "under the guise of a law and order problem" and a "exercise of ethnic cleansing" was carried out. It had requested that the state government provide an affidavit detailing how many structures had been demolished and whether or not any notice was given prior to demolition.

According to the government's response, the district administration followed proper protocol, and 283 of the 354 people affected by the demolition drive were Muslims and 71 were Hindus. Deepak Sabherwal, the Additional Advocate General of Haryana, attempted to file the affidavit on Friday, but the Division Bench of Chief Justice Ravi Shanker Jha and Justice Arun Palli asked him to register it at the court registry.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar will have an audio conference session with beneficiaries of the "Bhavantar Bharpayee Yojana" at 5 p.m. This is part of Khattar's initiative to provide a venue for welfare plan beneficiaries to share their experiences and obstacles in getting benefits.  Every Saturday, Khattar engages in these direct interactions with diverse parts of the state's people.

Panipat, Haryana, is also preparing for Teej, a women's festival that the state government plans to honour on a huge scale. The BJP is attempting to increase its female support, in keeping with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's emphasis on "Naari Shakti" in his major speeches since last year. Women have been recognised by the BJP as the next electoral game changer.

"The turnout of women voters has been on the rise, surpassing men in some state elections," Liz Mathew said in this Road to 2024 post earlier this year. The party feels that this was one of the reasons for its remarkable return to power in Uttar Pradesh last year, when women outnumbered men in the state polls. So, party leaders say, on the road to the 2024 general elections, the government may implement more initiatives and programmes aimed at women, leading up to the'masterstroke' — passage of the long-delayed, much-anticipated women's reservation Bill. There are significant indications of this. One of Modi's standing orders to party leaders is to have a significant female representation on candidate lists for state elections."