AAP goes full throttle, makes forays across nation

If the recently held bypolls in WB are any indication for the prospects of the Grand Old Party… it may be noted that the party’s fortunes are turning out to be the same across the length and breadth of the country.

In the Guwahati Municipal Corporation elections, BJP and its ally Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) on Sunday swept elections winning 58 of the total 60 wards, while the principal opposition party Congress drew a blank!

The other 2 seats were shared by debutant AAP and the Assam Jatiya Party (AJP). It is not difficult to gauge the matter of the fact that the Congress’ stature of the principal Opposition party has been dwindling at jet speed and it may not be perhaps wrong to say that the Old Order has Changeth…!

The buoyed AAP has been seen to open its account even in as far as Assam especially at a time when even regional parties like Trinamool have not been able to create a ripple in states like Tripura notwithstanding its giant stature in WB.

AAP has already made forays into several frontiers of the country. The party has started its groundwork for the Karnataka Assembly elections due in the first half of 2023.

Even as the ruling BJP and the “opposition” Congress are preparing for the ballot battle in Karnataka, the AAP smells opportunity in the southern state. AAP’s state convener, Karnataka, Prithvi Reddy recently told the media that people of the state will have a real alternative after a long time.

While AAP will continue banking on the party’s winning formula of focusing on providing basic necessities for people to live in dignity, Reddy said adding that a Karnataka plan is also in place.

THE HIMACHAL STORY: Since Himachal Pradesh and Punjab are neighbouring states, many believe the AAP could “vroom” in Himachal as it did Punjab. But political observers with an eye on Himachal’s politics have a different script to narrate. The Ground Reality of Himachal is a trifle different.

Himachal has traditionally been a two-party state, with the Congress and the BJP at the helm. Several political parties in the past tried their luck in Himachal but have never succeeded.

In Punjab, what mainly went in favour of AAP was the existing political forces’ disconnect with the masses. The larger than life political netas were too far from reality literally for the aam aadmi and it was here that the AAP scored with its grassroots connect.

In Himachal, leaders are just like next door neighbours. They are so closely connected with the fabric of their constituency that they know each family and attend their weddings, funerals etc and all social events.

Himachal is well placed in most social development parameters. At nearly 83% literacy rate (2011 Census), it is one of the most literate states in the country. It has also done well in improving primary healthcare. Despite its topography, Himachal has a hundred per cent electrification and a good road network.

ROAD TO GUJARAT: With a massive roadshow in Ahmedabad on April 2, AAP declared its next major goal after winning Punjab — challenging the BJP and the Congress in Gujarat and consolidating itself as the third power in what has historically been (again like in Himachal) a two-party state.

The AAP’s plans (for the state) were apparent in the closed-door meetings that the party’s national convener and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal held with key social and political leaders. On March 27, Kejriwal met BTP leader and Dediapada MLA Mahesh Vasava. The party, which has two MLAs at present, is likely to ally with the AAP for the Assembly elections.

AAP’s PAST TENSE: AAP’s Gujarat unit was set up in 2013 but it got its first state president 4 years later in 2017 when 79-year-old retired mathematics professor Kishore Desai was appointed. It contested 29 of the 182 Assembly seats and bagged votes even less than the NOTA option in some constituencies. The party rejiged its state organisation in 2020.

So, the Congress must realise the state of affairs and it is evident from the AAP’s efforts which slow but steady, that the party is inching ahead to capture the Grand Old Party’s position as the principal Opposition.

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL