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In Very 'Changa' Punjabi, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal Asks People To Bring Him Sweets At His Punjab Rally

In Very 'Changa' Punjabi, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal Asks People To Bring Him Sweets At His Punjab Rally
AMRITSAR, INDIA - OCTOBER 24: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and AAP Punjab convener from Chhotepur, Sucha Singh paying obeisance at Golden Temple on October 24, 2015 in Amritsar, India. Kejriwal said that it was the responsibility of Punjab government to arrest the real culprits behind the incidents of desecration of holy books, adding no innocent person should be slapped with false cases. (Photo by Sameer Sehgal/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
Hindustan Times via Getty Images
AMRITSAR, INDIA - OCTOBER 24: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and AAP Punjab convener from Chhotepur, Sucha Singh paying obeisance at Golden Temple on October 24, 2015 in Amritsar, India. Kejriwal said that it was the responsibility of Punjab government to arrest the real culprits behind the incidents of desecration of holy books, adding no innocent person should be slapped with false cases. (Photo by Sameer Sehgal/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)

Forget Prime Minister Narendra Modi's periodic address to the nation, Mann Ki Baat, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is beginning to be known as a regular on the radio for his many messages urging Delhi voters to follow his government's various schemes. But on Sunday, he had an entirely different request of the people of Punjab.

Kejriwal released a voice message appealing to people to gather in large numbers at his rally on January 14 at Mela Maghi, a religious gathering of Sikhs held every year, at Sri Muktsar Sahib in Punjab, and bring 'rewaris', a famous Punjabi sweet, with them.

He started by greeting listeners with “Sat Shri Akal” before saying that he would be visiting Sri Muktsar Sahib on Maghi mela. The clip, carrying his picture and his voice in the background, has Kejriwal saying, “Please do come, I want to talk to you."

At the end of the speech, he asks the people who to bring rewaris with them. "We will sit together to talk and enjoy the rewari,” he says. Rewari is a sweet made of jaggery eaten usually during Lohri.

Listen to his audio message here:

.@ArvindKejriwal's message for 14th Jan Rally.

Do listen & RT. pic.twitter.com/wPndDARraF

— Aam Aadmi Party- AAP (@AamAadmiParty) January 10, 2016

This is Kejriwal's way of connecting with the voters before the 2017 Punjab elections, and he's working hard.

Durgesh Pathak, national organisational building head of AAP, told The Indian Express that Kejriwal is learning Punjabi to strike a chord with the Punjabi voters. Apparently, the chief minister already knows four languages--English, Hindi, Haryanvi and Bengali. Now, he's trying to read and speak Punjabi.

So, why did he start learning Punjabi?

Besides the obvious effort in trying to connect with the Punjabi speakers ahead of the elections, there's a deeper history.

According to this Indian Express report, this is Kejriwal's response to Punjab Congress president Capt Amarinder Singh. Singh had called a “Haryanvi” who would find it tough to connect with voters in Punjab.

"Who wants a Haryanvi in Punjab when all our issues are with Haryana? We have an issue of water sharing, territory with Haryana. He is not going to sell in Punjab," he had said in an interview earlier.

But, Kejriwal has already started winning hearts with the 25 seconds clip, at least on social media.

Many commented praising Kejriwal and how 'changa' his Punjabi is.

@AamAadmiParty badi changi punjabi bol rahe ho sir ji 😍😍 @ArvindKejriwal

— Manjot Singh (@ManjoteSingh) January 10, 2016

@AamAadmiParty@ArvindKejriwal weldone sir.... keep it up

— sandeep grover (@sandeepgrover1) January 10, 2016

@AamAadmiParty@aartic02@ArvindKejriwal wow .... Kejriwal Punjabi bolde hoyE! Maza aa gaya Bhai Sahib

— Fairdoc (@espee956) January 10, 2016

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.