Ahmedabad/New Delhi, April 2 (IANS) The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has alleged a pattern of arrests targeting its workers in Gujarat ahead of local body elections, with its national convenor Arvind Kejriwal writing to Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel seeking a meeting and claiming the actions were part of a “pre-planned conspiracy” to weaken the party.

In a letter issued on Thursday, Kejriwal said more than 160 party workers had been arrested in the past three months and that the pace of detentions had increased in recent days.

He linked the development to the upcoming civic polls, stating that “the Gujarat Police’s action has intensified before the local body elections, giving the impression that the BJP wants to win elections with the help of police”.

Kejriwal described what he called a recurring pattern in recent cases, alleging that party workers were stopped on the road by unidentified individuals, followed by police intervention that led to their arrest under serious charges.

Citing incidents in Khambhalia, Porbandar and Jamnagar between March 30 and 31, he claimed that in each case, AAP workers were booked while those who initiated the confrontation were not proceeded against.

“It appears as if crime branch officials are waiting nearby for such calls and act one-sidedly,” he wrote, adding that several cases involved charges under attempt to murder.

The letter also alleged that police had visited the homes of party leaders and workers, issuing threats and warning them to leave the state or face consequences.

“There were reports of plans to detain thousands more workers in the coming days, which could affect the party’s ability to field candidates,” he said.

He requested time to meet CM Patel, stating that he, along with Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, wished to discuss the issue.

The letter was issued a day after state party president Isudan Gadhvi was detained and later released by police.

Gadhvi had gone to a police station to submit a representation regarding the arrest of party workers.

Speaking after his release, Gadhvi said, “We had gone to present our case regarding the arrests of our workers, but we were detained.”

He added that police objected to video recording during the visit, stating, “We were making a video, and that is why they detained us.”

Gadhvi alleged that similar cases had been registered against party workers in multiple locations following a comparable sequence of events.

“There is a pattern in four to five places where FIRs have been filed in the same manner,” he said, adding that the party would continue its activities despite the arrests.

–IANS

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