AAP to contest 2023 panchayat polls in Mamata-ruled Bengal

On Sunday, March 13, AAP’s Bengal unit took out a victory rally to celebrate the party's Punjab win.

After registering a landslide victory in the Punjab elections, the Aam Aadmi Party is all set to contest the 2023 Panchayat elections in West Bengal.

Delhi chief minister and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal with Punjab CM-designate Bhagwant Mann.(HT_PRINT)

“Aam Aadmi Party will contest the 2023 Panchayat elections in West Bengal. On the instructions of the party high command, its local unit has already started its campaign. AAP held a rally in Kolkata on 13th March," Sanjoy Basu, AAP's Bengal in-charge told ANI.

The party that made its political foray in the state in 2014, doesn't have a strong foothold in the state. With the West Bengal Panchayat polls just a year away, the Aam Aadmi Party has set its eyes on the panchayat elections to establish its footing in the Trinamool Congress bastion.

On Sunday, March 13, AAP’s Bengal unit took out a victory rally to celebrate the party's Punjab win. The AAP supporters were seen carrying posters of party convenor Arvind Kejriwal, and placards of Punjab chief minister-designate Bhagwant Mann. Some party workers were carrying brooms (AAP’s symbol) and chanting slogans of "Kejri Bhai Zindabad".

The ‘Padarpan Yatra’ or rally was started from Girish Park till Esplanade in Kolkata, and is said to be the first such rally by the party in West Bengal.

The party has also decided to contest the Assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.