AAP uncertain over contesting Gujarat polls, panel to take call

The Aam Aadmi Party’s top leadership is in a fix — to fight or not to fight the Gujarat assembly elections.

If the party performs badly, it would dent its image nationally. But if AAP entirely withdraws from the race, it would further erode its volunteer base in India and overseas, which had begun dwindling after the defeat in Punjab and Gujarat polls.

Unable to decide on how many seats to contest in Gujarat, the party leadership has referred the decision to its highest decision making body, the political affairs committee (PAC), state in charge Gopal Rai said.

“The PAC will take the final call. No date has been fixed for the meeting,” Rai said.

Rai was among the party leaders who met national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on June 7 to take a final decision. But the four-hour meeting remained inconclusive.

“There are sharp divisions in the party over whether to contest the election or not and if yes, how many seats to fight on. The differences are still there after the meeting,” a senior leader who was present at the meeting had said.

An internal report submitted by the state unit to Kejriwal says that it might not be a strong contender in more than a handful of seats, sources in AAP Gujarat told HT.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state – where the BJP has ruled since 1998 – goes to the polls later this year.

AAP had announced grand plans in 2016 to put up a fight in all 182 seats.

It wanted to emerge as a national alternative to the BJP by 2019 by performing well in Gujarat but the plan itself was contingent upon a stellar performance in Punjab and winning seats in Goa.

However, in both states, AAP failed to put up a decent show after which volunteers started leaving the party.

The losses even shook its base in Delhi that the party has considered its citadel since it bagged 67 of the 70 assembly seats in 2015.

“The central leadership does not want to be seen as losing in the state and is ready to give up on the Gujarat project to consolidate its position in Delhi and Punjab. A loss there will lower the morale elsewhere. The big states for us next are Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh,” a senior leader said.

Sources said Kejriwal is keen on contesting seats where the party is strong. A top leader in the state, however, said, “If you choose a few seats, how will we convince the volunteers on other seats who have been working equally hard?”

AAP WANTED TO EMERGE AS A NATIONAL ALTERNATIVE TO BJP BY 2019 BY PERFORMING WELL IN GUJARAT BUT THE PLAN ITSELF WAS CONTINGENT UPON A STELLAR WIN IN PUNJAB AND GOA WHERE IT LOST