Bangalore: Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal has declared that he is ready to take on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in Varanasi in the Lok Sabha elections, but he will do so only if “the people want” it.

He was addressing a rally here on Sunday, the second day of his tour of the Lok Sabha constituencies in and around Bangalore. It was attended by a large number of supporters, all wearing the AAP’s caps. Mr. Kejriwal said he would gauge the people’s support at a rally the AAP plans to hold in Varanasi on March 23. “I will do whatever the people say.”

Speaking in Hindi in his trademark style that alternates between sardonic humour and references to himself as the common man, he spared the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate no criticism and spoke of the media’s “propaganda of falsehood” in their portrayal of Mr. Modi’s development model.

“For a year, the media have tried to show that Gujarat has progressed under Modiji. So I decided to see the progress for myself. But what I witnessed in my 10-day visit shocked me. Farmers complain that their land is being grabbed and handed over to industries. Modiji represents the old school crony capitalism,” he said.