Continuing with its blame game, AAP recently accused Gautam Gambhir, the BJP candidate from East Delhi of circulating pamphlets slandering Atishi, the AAP candidate of East Delhi. While BJP strongly condemned election gimmicks and political stunts by AAP, support surged in for Gautam Gambhir from his cricket fraternity. Cricket players from the Indian Cricket Team deny the allegations on their team mate, saying that Gambhir has unquestionable integrity and would never stoop to the level of insulting a woman.
The Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh came out in support of the cricketer turned politician Gautam Gambhir. Singh said, “I am shocked to note (the) events involving Gautam Gambhir. I know him well and he can never talk ill of any woman. Whether he wins or loses is another matter but the man is above all this,” Defending Gambhir’s moral character the Indian bowler stood for his teammate and said that losing or winning is another matter and that Gautam Gambhir as a person is above all of this.
I am shocked to note yesterday’s events involving @GautamGambhir. I know him well and he can never talk ill for any woman. Whether he wins or loses is another matter but the man is above all this
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) May 10, 2019
Denying the charges, Gambhir sent defamation notices to Atishi and other leaders of the party like Manish Sisodia and Arvind Kejriwal. The revered batsman VVS Laxman also came in support of Gambhir, who said that he would vouch for the integrity held by Gautam Gambhir. The former batsman mentioned his two decade long association with BJP candidate on twitter and claimed that the latter could never disrespect women.
Shocked to hear about yesterday's developments. Having known @GautamGambhir for nearly 2 decades, I can vouch for his integrity, character and the respect he has for women.
— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) May 10, 2019
Support for Gautam Gambhir did not stop coming, the famous bowler of the Indian Team, Irfan Pathan also came out in support of Gambhir. Pathan said that the man he is aware of would never insult a woman and demean her character. Pathan on twitter said, “Purely talking about the man I know @GautamGambhir he won’t disrespect women”
Purely talking about the man I know @GautamGambhir he won’t disrespect women
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) May 10, 2019
Others like coach and cricketer Rudra Pratap Singh and former Kings XI Punjab player Parvinder Awana also came in support of Gautam Gambhir saying that the claims by AAP are baseless and it was disappointing to see that politics of this sort was being practiced in the elections.
I stand by @GautamGambhir bhaiya. I have known him since a very long time. Whatever is being said to defame him is baseless. It's shocking and disappointing to see politics of this sort.
— Parvinder Awana (@ParvinderAwana) May 10, 2019
Many times I disagree with #GautamGambhir and his thoughts, I believe he could be aggressive and eager to win but won't do such cheap tricks.
— R P Singh रुद्र प्रताप सिंह (@rpsingh) May 10, 2019
While the AAP is trying its best to prove that BJP is using dirty tricks to win Delhi seat, Gambhir is supported by the cricket fraternity which knows him in and out. A sportsperson who represented his country on international platform will not restore to such disgusting methods of winning elections. Gautam Gambhir’s popularity is unmatched and does pose a great challenge for AAP to win the elections.
AAP has a history of carrying out political stunts right before the elections so that it can gain sympathy votes on account of the opposition party being defamed and their image being tainted. Recently the party supremo and Delhi’s Chief Minister was slapped by a man in his Moti Nagar rally. Kejriwal without giving a second thought to his own wrong doing to the people of Delhi blamed the BJP for the man who slapped him. While the BJP condemned the blame and accusation, it also criticised the AAP leader for scripting such acts to gain sympathy votes for the party. In the past as well, Arvind Kejriwal resorted to similar gimmicks to gain sympathy in Lok Sabha elections of 2014. The party chief crying on stage in rallies is also a well known way to gather sympathy by the AAP. It is therefore not surprising that his party candidates are also using the same tactics to garner the support of the voters.
While some resort to decent campaigns to convince people of their candidature, others choose a more theatrical method to gain undeserved attention. With 2 poll phases left, India will soon see the results of the choice the citizens of the country have made.
