AAP gets into LS polls mode, to contest in 15 to 20 States

The Aam Aadmi Party on Sunday declared its intention of contesting the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections by throwing open its primary membership to all citizens for free. A countrywide decentralised membership drive — “main bhi aam aadmi” (I too am a commoner) — will be held from January 10 to 26.

AAP leader Yogendra Yadav made the announcement at the end of a two-day national executive meeting here. He said the party decided to contest all the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi, and the Assembly and Parliamentary seats in Haryana.

The AAP will also put up candidates in some seats in Tamil Nadu, and most Parliamentary and Assembly constituencies in Maharashtra.

Convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will spearhead the party’s election campaign. Mr. Kejriwal has decided not to contest the Lok Sabha elections, but will campaign “vigorously” for the party.

3 lakh people join in Maharashtra

Among party leaders tipped to contest elections are: Yogendra Yadav from Haryana, Mayank Gandhi and Anjali Damania from Maharashtra, and Sanjay Singh and Kumar Vishwas from Uttar Pradesh. In Maharashtra alone, more than 3 lakh people have joined the party, which has opened offices in 34 districts. The party units in Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka have also indicated their readiness to contest the Lok Sabha elections.

Although the final picture will emerge only by February-end, based on the preparations on the ground so far, the party plans to contest “at least 250 to 300 seats in 15 to 20 States.” “We are testing the waters on how far we can go,” said Mr. Yadav.

He said that declaring a prime ministerial candidate “presupposes” where the party would land in the general election. “Unless we assess where we stand, it is not correct to declare a prime ministerial candidate.”

The first list of candidates will be made public between January 15 and 20. All selected candidates will go through public scrutiny in the run-up to the final selection by the Political Affairs Committee. “After a candidate for a particular constituency is finalised, no more applications for that seat will be considered,” he said. The last date for applying is January 15.

A three-member national election coordination committee will take care of candidates’ selection, preparing the party manifesto, fund-raising and other aspects of the election. The party manifesto will be based on internal reports by 31 panels formed during the Delhi elections.

 

No membership fee

Executive Committee member Gopal Rai said the party was running out of membership receipt books and, therefore, opened the countrywide membership drive without any fee. The situation would be reviewed after January 26. A membership fee of Rs.10 has been scrapped.

Election panel member Pankaj Gupta said the candidate selection committee in the States would have five members, including a non-AAP member for “objective scrutiny.”

The panel members, however, admitted that the party needed more funds to contest the general election. “We fought the Delhi elections with Rs.20 crore. But more funds will be needed for the Lok Sabha polls.’’

The leaders said they were aware of other parties sending their cadre for “proxy membership”. They issued a “zero tolerance” warning to members against indulging in indiscipline or any anti-social activity that would bring the AAP into disrepute. “Such a member will be disowned.”

'Modi for PM' to be BJP's poll slogan

[caption id="attachment_10290" align="alignleft" width="300"] BJP president Rajnath Singh, flanked by senior party leaders L. K. Advani and Sushma Swaraj, poses for a photograph with BJP Chief Ministers (standing from left) Manohar Parrikar, Raman Singh, Narendra Modi, Shivraj Singh Chauhan and Vasundhara Raje, during the Party's Chief Ministers' Conference , in New Delhi on Tuesday. Photo: V. Sudershan[/caption]

The BJP on Tuesday decided to firmly peg its Lok Sabha campaign on the party’s Prime Ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, while taking the message to the people that the conditions prevailing now were akin to those witnessed immediately after the Emergency imposed by Congress in 1975.

Following a meeting of chief ministers of five BJP-ruled states and its Parliamentary Board here, general secretary Ananth Kumar told reporters that the election slogan for the party would be ‘Modi for PM’

“BJP’s ‘Modi for PM’ campaign will be on the lines of the JP movement that was launched in the Emergency era to throw out the Congress government,” Mr Kumar said.

Maintaining that in 1977, the mood had been strongly anti-Congress, Mr Kumar averred that a similar situation exists today.

“It was a watershed year. Nobody thought the opposition could garner so many votes,” Mr Kumar said.

The recent Assembly election results show that BJP is head and shoulders above its rivals, he claimed.

Mr Kumar also revealed that as part of their ambitious campaign, BJP workers will also collect funds under a ‘one vote, one note’ programme.

“The minimum amount to be contributed will be Rs 10 while the maximum limit is Rs 1,000,” Mr Kumar said.

During the meeting, BJP President Rajnath Singh claimed that wins in three states and a good performance in Delhi in the recent Assembly polls had set the momentum in favour of the party and would help it in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

The leaders passed a resolution stating that these results were a referendum that a government has to perform or perish.

The party has only one target — of getting 272—plus seats in Lok Sabha polls.