After landslide victory in Punjab, Haryana is on AAP radar

New Delhi: After its emphatic victory in the Punjab Assembly elections, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had started recognizing its organizational structure by forming booth level committees in neighbouring Haryana which from two sides is surrounded by state’s/union territory governed by the party and is going to organize a mega show in the last week of May to present itself as an alternative to the opposition Indian National Congress (INC) like it is doing in other states where the BJP and Congress are in direct contest.
Talking to The Sunday Guardian, Ashok Tanwar, a former Haryana Congress chief and parliamentarian who recently joined the party said, “The AAP is the natural opposition in the state as Congress is somewhat part of the ruling dispensation. The Kejriwal model of development, empowerment, governance and justice is appealing to the people in Haryana. They have seen the rule of both the BJP and Congress, so they want change. As far as we are concerned, we are building the party from the bottom up; we are forming committees at ward and village level. We are enrolling people and as it is needed to tell them what’s the vision and ideology of the party, that’s why we have planned a ‘Ab Badlega Haryana’ rally in this month itself to highlight it and galvanize cadres to work with more focus at the ground level.”
After the Punjab victory, the Haryana unit of AAP had started organizing small meetings across the 90 Assembly constituencies of the state with many party members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) from Delhi and Punjab joining these gatherings and highlighting the AAP model. In view of the response, the “Ab Badlega Haryana” rally has been planned which will be addressed by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and other top party leaders.
The Delhi’s chief minister’s native place is also in state’s Bhiwani district. “We are working on all the 90 Assembly segments, the model of the AAP party is that wherever we go with all our humbleness and people accept it. I hope people will accept us like Delhi where they gave us 67 seats, and Punjab where we won a three-fourth majority,” added Tanwar who joined the party in April and is considered a heavyweight in Haryana politics. The party is hoping to have a gathering of more than one lakh people for the rally. The party had formed an organizing committee that included Sushil Gupta, the party’s Haryana in-charge, Ashok Tanwar and Chitra Sarwara. Many who are closely following the developments argue that the Punjab victory came at the right time for the party in Haryana as the civic body polls are round the corner in the state and the party might be able to make inroads in urban constituencies of the state. There are roughly 30 urban seats in the state thanks to its proximity to Delhi. Party leaders also say that they are getting good response from areas adjoining Punjab. It is not the first time the AAP is trying to make inroads in the state, after its formation the party contested both the 2014 and 2019 parliamentary elections in the state which sends 10 Lok Sabha members, but was not successful in any seats. It got less than four percent of popular votes.