AAP sounds poll bugle with ‘Broom is the Solution’ campaign

NEW DELHI: With the launch of the “Broom is the Solution” campaign, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has sounded the bugle for its political campaign in Karnataka. The southern state will go for polls in the month of May.
Earlier, AAP had announced that the party will fight in all 224 Assembly constituencies across the state. AAP launched its political campaign in Bangalore and in the next 10 days till 28 February, AAP workers and leaders will organize the “Broom is the Solution” campaign in every constituency.
Under this campaign, AAP workers will march in every constituency and will hold a broom in hand as a “symbol against corruption”. While talking to The Sunday Guardian AAP’s Karnataka convener Prithvi Reddy explained the reason behind launching this campaign: “Today in politics corruption is rampant and there is nothing in the hands of common men to make him feel empowered, we have launched this campaign to bring people together against corruption, criminality and injustice in politics.”
In the 2018 Karnataka Assembly elections, AAP fielded candidates on 29 seats but was not able to secure a single seat. But after a historic victory in Punjab and opening an account in BJP bastion Gujarat, the AAP leadership is seen more confident.
In Karnataka, AAP is showcasing its Delhi and Punjab models to lure voters. “Corruption, education, healthcare, water and electricity are our basic issues on which we fight elections, but this time, keeping Karnataka’s agriculture in mind, progressive manifesto for farmers will be brought,” Prithvi Reddy said. “If we form the government, our main target will be to bring uniformity in industrialization and development in the whole state because this should not be limited to only one city ‘Bangalore’ in the state,” added the AAP leader.
According to the state leadership, the central leadership of Karnataka is keeping eye on the party’s development in the state. On 4 March, AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal will address a rally in central Karnataka’s Davanagere and later more rallies will be organised in different parts of the state and various other senior leaders from Delhi, Punjab and Gujrat will join the campaign.
According to AAP leaders in Karnataka, more than five lakh workers have joined the party via missed-call campaign and more will join the party in the coming months. AAP Karnataka is terming itself a trendsetter. According to AAP leadership, many of their schemes launched in Delhi and Punjab are copied by other mainstream parties in the state. “The Karnataka government launched ‘Namma clinics’ in the state, which is a copy of our ‘Mohalla clinic’ model and Karnataka government is also planning to build 24,000 new classrooms for government schools in the state, this is also a copy of our education model,” accused Prithvi Reddy.
“Even Congress has now promised to provide 200 units of free electricity every month if they form the government in the state, they are also copying our model,” added Reddy. But there are various problems, which the nascent party is facing in the state. According to AAP leaders, shortage of funds and communal and caste agenda are some problems.
“The election in Karnataka is an expensive task and this will be bigger than Gujarat; because of communal and caste-based politics, real issues take a back seat,” an AAP leader from Karnataka said. Last month, the AAP leadership dissolved the state unit and after a week, the unit was revamped. Prithvi Reddy continued as state convenor, retired IPS officer Bhaskar Rao was appointed chairman of the manifesto committee and Mukhyamantri Chandru was given charge of the campaign committee.