AAP’s big push to dislodge BJP govt in Haryana

Chandigarh: The recent announcement by AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal that the party would contest all 90 seats in the next Assembly elections in Haryana, scheduled to be held after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, has confirmed the party’s growing ambition to emerge as a force in Haryana.

Like 2014, the party has also decides to field candidates on all 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana next year’s parliamentary polls. However, it remains to be seen how the political equations change in the state in the coming months.

Through its “Haryana Jodo” campaign, launched by Mr Kejriwal on May 28 from Kurukshetra, AAP wants to install flex hoardings on two lakh households in the state.

In the first phase of the campaign in July-August, the AAP claims to have appointed conveners in all 9,500 polling booths.

AAP insiders believe that the party can have an impact on the outcome of state elections.

 “It also helps the party in Delhi to have presence in the surrounding areas,” said an AAP leader.

The way the AAP has planned to launch the second phase of its “Haryana Jodo” campaign — by installing flex hoardings with the message “Main aur mera parivaar, AAP ke saath” on two lakh households in the state — and also going by the interest shown by Mr Kejriwal in Haryana affairs in the past, it seems the AAP is taking Haryana elections in all earnest.

Haryana is the home state of Mr Kejriwal and some of the ministers and legislators of the party in Delhi. It can make a marked presence particularly in the areas of the national capital region using a spillover of its Delhi support base, said an AAP leader.

AAP’s Haryana chief Naveen Jaihind said that the party would offer the Delhi model of governance to the people of Haryana — “basic amenities like power and water at cheaper rates, more compensation to the families of martyrs, more remunerations and compensation to farmers”.

In fact, the implementation of the recommendation of the Swaminathan Commission on the improvement of farmers’ lot is one of the major promises made by Mr Kejriwal at his  rally in Hisar. He said the AAP would strive to overthrow the ruling BJP.

 Mr Kejriwal hails from Siwani town of Haryana and his early education is also from the state. When he was to choose three names for nominations to the Rajya Sabha from Delhi, he selected two out of three from Haryana lineage. Besides his trusted lieutenant Sanjay Singh, he picked Sushil Gupta, an educationist, and N.D. Gupta, a chartered accountant, from Haryana.

However, it needs to be seen weather AAP is able to convince people of Haryana that it is a serious contender and would not back out from contesting as it had done in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat.  

The party will have to ensure it does not make the mistakes it made in Punjab where over-ambitious politicians marred its chances of coming to power. It also has to shed the image of being a party aiming to just cut into other parties’ votes.