Where is ‘AAP’ target after Gujarat

The Aam Aadmi Party’s better-than-expected performance in the Gujarat civic elections has again sparked a new debate in national politics. In the last few days, the Aam Aadmi Party has announced to contest elections in several states and is presenting itself as an alternative to the Congress in front of the BJP. In such a situation, after this demonstration, questions are arising that can Aam Aadmi Party led by Arvind Kejriwal perform like this in other places also? The party defeated the Congress in Surat and established itself as the opposition in front of the BJP. It was also somewhat successful in registering presence in other cities. Encouraged by this, Arvind Kejriwal is going to Gujarat on 26 February. In fact, the party is now beginning to explore for itself in the 2022 assembly elections. The BJP has been under rule there for more than two decades. The Congress failed to return to power despite being given a tough fight in the 2017 election. After that many party leaders have joined BJP. After the death of Ahmed Patel, there is no strong leader left in the Congress. According to experts, it will be difficult to say anything about the impact of the civic elections in the assembly elections, but it is so sure that the Aam Aadmi Party has brought itself to the center of discussion, which is the first entry in the politics of the new region. There is a condition.

Light after shock
Although the results of the civic elections in Gujarat showed the light of hope to the Aam Aadmi Party, the party was also shocked by the defeat in the local elections held in Punjab recently. After Delhi, if the Aam Aadmi Party was successful in increasing the base in any state, it was Punjab. She was also seriously involved in the race for power in the 2016 assembly elections. In such a situation, the defeat there has brought some concern, but the party is still optimistic for Punjab. In Punjab, the Aam Aadmi Party has succeeded in establishing its cadre and has been established as a force. The party feels that after the break-up of the Akali-BJP alliance, when the Amarinder Singh-led Congress government faces an anti-incumbency, people will choose it. The seats that AAP got in the Lok Sabha too, were from Punjab itself. The performance of the Gujarat civic elections has brought the national politics of the Arvind Kejriwal-led party back to life. But this time, a strategy is seen in the party to learn from the past mistakes. Arvind Kejriwal knows that this is the time and he does not want to be seen in a hurry.

The last time he got his first electoral success in Delhi eight years ago in 2013, his party was tempted to make a mark in national politics. In the 2014 general election in the name of alternative politics, the party contested almost 400 Lok Sabha seats without grassroots preparation and cadre and became the party to forfeit the most bail. Arvind Kejriwal himself reached Varanasi to fight PM candidate Narendra Modi. This extra havoc by Kejriwal became the reason for his immediate downfall. Then in 2015, the party won a historic victory in the Delhi Assembly elections. From then onwards, Kejriwal made a roadmap for the expansion of the party by doing complete planning in several stages. Then they landed in some states like Punjab, Goa. In the 2017 assembly elections, the party challenged in Punjab, but apart from this the expansion in other states completely failed. In the meantime, it also felt that in Delhi itself, their grip was diminishing. AAP lost in the Delhi MCD election. In the 2019 general election, the party again lost badly in all seven seats of Delhi. But in the 2020 assembly elections, Kerijwal proved that he had a hold on Delhi. Here again, a big win came in his account.

Delhi model becomes weapon
Initially, Kejriwal was accused that he is not only looking in a hurry, but he has neither his vision nor any agenda to move to another state. In such a situation, Kejriwal worked on both these fronts. First focused on the governance of Delhi and branding school-health to create a new Narrative for itself. Now they claim the Delhi Model of Governance in the new state where they go to expand – in which there is talk of providing cheap electricity and better education. Apart from Gujarat, they are also claiming to contest elections on the same issue in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. However his critics say that to fulfill his desire in national politics he is also resorting to Hindutva and presenting himself as its new alternative to counter BJP’s nationalism. They are also trying to take advantage of the falling graph of the Congress. Kejriwal is focusing more on those states where the main contest is between BJP and Congress.

The Aam Aadmi Party has recently announced that it will definitely contest the next assembly elections in half a dozen states. It includes states like Goa, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh besides Punjab. If Kejriwal is able to make a mark in these assembly elections, then in 2024, he can take the second risk aggressively of moving from local to national. But he knows that this time too the path will not be easy for him. Their success will depend on many other issues. What does the Congress do to make a comeback after learning from its mistakes, what will be its relationship with other opposition parties, will be the factors that will determine the future of Kejriwal’s national ambition.