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AAP takes the first leap, creates buzz in hill state
Himachal is set to go to the polls at the end of this year. The AAP has also announced to contest the Shimla municipal corporation election, the schedule for which is expected soon
MANDI : Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Punjab counterpart, Bhagwant Mann, on Wednesday kickstarted their election campaign in Himachal Pradesh with a massive roadshow in Mandi district and an appeal to voters to elect the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) if they want corruption eradicated from the state.
Himachal is set to go to the polls at the end of this year. The AAP has also announced to contest the Shimla municipal corporation election, the schedule for which is expected soon.
Accompanied by Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann, AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal led the roadshow ‘Tiranga Yatra’ that covered less than a kilometre from the historic Victoria Bridge to the Seri Manch in the heart of Mandi, where it converged into a public meeting.
Even, Kejriwal and Mann admitted that they didn’t expect such a huge response.
Since morning, the party activists started descending on Mandi, the political epicentre of the state since last four-and-half years. With patriotic songs playing in the background, the party workers carrying Tricolours, danced with enthusiasm amid scorching heat as they patiently waited for their leaders, who were at least two hours behind schedule.
People had pooled vehicles and contributed to hire buses to reach Mandi. Aman Guleria, an AAP leader from Kangra said that the state government used every trick to scuttle the roadshow. “They stopped vehicles and issued challans but could not lower the morale of the activists,” he said.
Salim Khan, an activist who had come from Chamba, said people coming to Mandi using their own resources reflect the undercurrent against the traditional parties in the state. “People want a change and the AAP is a better third option,” he said.
The AAP’s plans were also apparent as the party had appointed an eight-member panel for Himachal as it looks to expand its footprint and devise poll strategies for ensuing general assembly elections in the hill state.
Choosing Mandi for its first major event in the state was also a clever move to show its strength as it is political epicentre of the state for being the home turf of incumbent chief minister Jai Ram Thakur.
Last month, the AAP had appointed an eight-member team to expand the organisation and devise poll strategies in Himachal.
Contrary to the words making the round that some disgruntled BJP and Congress leaders may join AAP, no such thing happened, which makes it clear that the party leadership was in no hurry and will take the next course of action after closely gauging the situation.
The AAP’s election in-charge for Himachal and Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain has already made it clear that all good people are welcome if they keep aside their personal interests and that “aam aadmi” will be given a priority.
Even as the AAP, which claims to have added three-lakh members in Himachal since Punjab election results, lacks credible face to lead the party campaign in the state, the impressive show it put at chief minister Jai Ram Thakur’s home turf would boost the morale of the party activists.
The AAP first attempt to make inroads in Himachal during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls failed miserably as three of its four candidates forfeited their security deposit. The party did not contest the 2017 assembly polls.
A flop show: Himachal BJP chief
Himachal Pradesh BJP chief Suresh Kashyap said that the AAP roadshow was a total flop. The kind of clamour they had created, the gathering was not that large. Also, the kind of politics they do in Delhi and Punjab is not possible in Himachal, said Kashyap. Himachal is already corruption-free so AAP’s plans will not succeed here.
Abhishek Sharma, a political science teacher said the AAP has caused a stir in the state politics. If they keep the momentum, the AAP can certainly emerge as a third alternative in the hill state.
