Fine with same day polling in Punjab, Goa: Kejriwal

The AAP has no issues with Punjab and Goa - the two states where it is fighting elections - going to the polls on February 4, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Wednesday.

"We are ready for the elections. We don't mind even if the elections are held tomorrow," the Aam Aadmi Party leader told the media here hours after the Election Commission announced election dates in five states.

Kejriwal said the people had been waiting eagerly for the polling schedule to bring the AAP to power in both the states.

"Now (that the dates are known) people will openly support and work for the AAP in Punjab and Goa."

He added that the AAP won't name any Chief Ministerial candidate in Punjab. He said a new Chief Minister would be elected by legislators after the polls.

In Goa, the AAP has named former Inspector General of Prisons Elvis Gomes as the Chief Ministerial candidate.

He said the people of Goa were "looking forward to dislodging the dishonest government" in the coastal state.

The AAP leader claimed his party was poised to win more than 100 of the 117 seats in Punjab. "We will get seats in three digits."

"The countdown has started for the ruling parties in Punjab and Goa."

Kejriwal demanded the deployment of paramilitary forces in Punjab and said he expected the Election Commission to ensure a free and fair polls.

Asked what the AAP would do if there was a hung verdict in Punjab, he said: "That won't happen... Delhi's record will be broken in Punjab. The Congress and Akalis will be fighting for the second and third spots."

India's youngest political party, the AAP is contesting assembly elections in any state for the first time after it ventured into Delhi.

The AAP formed a minority government in Delhi in December 2013 but Kejriwal resigned after just 49 days. The AAP later swept to victory in February 2015.

--IANS

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