AAP's Next Focus On Rajasthan, To Hold 2-Day Convention From March 26

The AAP is holding a two-day convention in Jaipur, on March 26 and 27, to “strengthen” the organisation in Rajasthan, where assembly elections are slated to be held next year. 

New Delhi: After its landslide victory in the Punjab assembly elections, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is now focusing on Rajasthan. The AAP is holding a two-day convention in Jaipur, on March 26 and 27, to “strengthen” the organisation in Rajasthan, where assembly elections are slated to be held next year. 

According to the party, Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, who is also national spokesperson for the AAP and the state-in-charge for Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Rajasthan, will hold discussions on ways to make people aware of the welfare policies of the party during the two-day convention, news agency PTI reported. 

AAP legislator from Dwarka and former MP Mahabal Mishra’s son Vinay Mishra can be given the responsibility of Rajasthan during the convention, party leaders said, according to a PTI report. 

The two-day convention has been named ‘Vijay Utsav’, and will witness the participation of all party leaders and workers. AAP’s state co-incharge Khemchand Jagirdar said that the convention will strengthen the organisation in Rajasthan. 

AAP Has Started Preparation For Assembly Election In Himachal Pradesh: Party Leader

Quoting Jagirdar, the PTI report said that the AAP has started preparation for the assembly election in Himachal Pradesh. He said that Rajasthan is a neighbouring state of Rajasthan, and is close to New Delhi. The assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh are scheduled to be conducted in November this year.

Jagirdar further said that the AAP will soon announce the name of its state president in Rajasthan. The party will also conduct a membership drive soon to give people an alternative to mainstream political parties in the state. 

The AAP had contested in the 2018 Rajasthan assembly elections, but failed to win a single seat. The party fielded 142 candidates in the 200 assembly constituencies, and secured only 0.4 per cent of votes. 

AAP Held Its First Rally In West Bengal

The AAP held its first rally in the state of West Bengal on March 13. The rally, dubbed 'Padarpan Yatra' by the party, is seen as AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal’s attempt to consolidate his party’s position in West Bengal.
In 2015, the AAP had several units in West Bengal. However, these were merged with the Trinamool Congress (TMC).

The Padarpan Yatra started from Dharmatala and ended at Girish Park in Kolkata. 

The AAP also held a roadshow in Amritsar on March 13 to acknowledge the immense love and trust it has received from the people of Punjab. The party bagged 92 seats in the 117-member Punjab Assembly.

After the decimation of the Congress in various states, the party wants to portray itself as the primary opposition in the country.

AAP Focusing On Gujarat

Before the assembly election results in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa, Manipur, and Uttarakhand were declared, AAP Gujarat spokesperson Yogesh Patel claimed that the party will emerge as the main contender to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Gujarat, where the assembly elections are slated to be held in December this year. 

He said that the Congress has been rejected by the people of Gujarat for the last 27 years, PTI reported. 

The BJP and the Congress have been dominating political forces in Gujarat since decades. However, some political forces say that the AAP has a fair chance to take on the BJP, just like the Arvind Kejriwal-led party did in the national capital.