Punjab next for AAP volunteers
CORNERSTONE While they are finally getting a break, many will be needed back for party’s expansion
NEW DELHI: They had swamped the secretariat the last time the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) came into power in 2013. Fast forward to 2015, and AAP volunteers at the secretariat are few and far in between.
So what is it that the 1 lakh odd volunteers in Delhi are going to do after they helped the party script history?
“A number of them took out time from their busy schedules to become part of the movement. Many held steady jobs while they worked for the party and quite a few of them were students. They will finally get their lives back. But there is a chunk of volunteers who will continue working for the party and help it expand in different states,” a party strategist said.
According to sources, the party has already asked volunteers who managed key projects in Delhi elections to start thinking of strategies for Bangalore, Mumbai and many cities in Punjab.
AAP senior leader, Yogendra Yadav has already said that the party will start focusing on other states soon. Punjab, where elections are due in 2017 and from where the public sent four AAP MPs to the Lok Sabha, will be the party’s next stop many feel. According to sources, many will be meeting Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to discuss the future course of action this week.
The AAP government getting 67 seats out of 70 is also going to have a bearing on the functioning of the government.
While last year, volunteers are what the party depended on for surveys and crowd management inside the secretariat, the party will depend on the staff rather than volunteers this year.
“Last year, we had got just 28 seats and there was a lot of insecurity and inexperience. We learnt lessons and have come back more confident. The party is new in its style of functioning. We are here to stay for at least 5 years and that confidence will reflect on our style of work. The volunteers helped us popularize the party and create an army of guerilla workers. The same is expected of them in other states and cities,” said a senior party leader.
For volunteers, the sudden availability of time is not something they are taking too well.
“The kind of exposure that this work has given us in the past three months is amazing. I’m not too happy that the excitement is gone. I will continue my work of promoting AAP on social media but it won’t be the same. There, however, is no other way. The government has to start work and we have to be foot soldiers wherever and whenever need be,” said a volunteer at the AAP office who did not want to be named.
SOURCES SAY AAP HAS ASKED VOLUNTEERS TO START THINKING OF STRATEGIES FOR BANGALORE, MUMBAI AND CITIES IN PUNJAB