AAP ‘fighting’ for political survival
LUCKNOW: For the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), much is at stake in the civic polls in Uttar Pradesh.
The party sees an opportunity in these elections to make its presence felt in this Hindi heartland, where it is still a nobody.
It was in 2014 general elections that AAP made a foray into electoral politics in UP but its candidates failed to make an impact. AAP convener and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal also lost to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Varanasi by a margin of more than 3.5 lakh votes.
These local bodies’ elections became all the more important for AAP after back-to-back defeats in Punjab and Goa assembly polls, where it had claimed that it would form governments, and its humiliating defeat in Municipal Corporation of Delhi polls.
“UP will play a major role in the 2019 general elections. But AAP does not have any political presence here. Now, it sees civic polls as an opportunity to make its presence felt in UP,” said Vijay Narain, Varanasi-based socialist leader.
“If AAP fails to make an impact in these civic polls then it
› Uttar Pradesh is an important state. It will play a major role in the 2019 general elections like it did in 2014 elections VIJAY NARAIN, Varanasi-based socialist leader
will become more challenging for it,” he added.
Starting about two years ago, AAP gradually started building its base in UP for the civic polls by engaging slum dwellers, e-rickshaw drives and students in urban centres for promotion of the party. Promising to replicate its Delhi formula, where the party took up local issues to establish a connect with the masses, in UP also AAP leadership went all out to connect with them through locality-meetings.
From direct public interaction to door-to-door contact programmes, AAP tried to build its base. The party has also effectively used RTI to expose corruption in BJP-controlled civic bodies in UP.
Among all political parties, it was AAP that raised the issue of e-tender scam in Lucknow Municipal Corporation.