No more mega rallies, AAP to go micro

Vishav Bharti

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 2

In a major shift in its election campaign strategy, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will no longer hold mega rallies. It will start a micro-level mass contact programme in the state. Party’s national convener Arvind Kejriwal and other top leaders will reach out to the voters, addressing small gatherings.

A senior party leader, who did not wish to be named, said Kejriwal would reach here tomorrow on a three-day visit to launch the programme. He will meet volunteers and leaders to get feedback on how their announcements and manifestos are being received by the electorate.

The AAP leader confirmed that the focus would now be on an interaction with the voters — on the lines of the Delhi Assembly election campaign.

Unlike last year, the party’s rally at the upcoming Maghi Mela in Muktsar will be a low-key affair. “There will be no pressure on any candidate to get crowds to the rally,” the leader said.

Mohali, Lehra candidates named

AAP on Monday announced its candidates for Mohali and Lehra seats. State party convener Gurpreet Singh Waraich said Narinder Singh Shergill would contest from Mohali and Jasbir Singh Kudani from Lehra. The party has announced 108 candidates out of 117 so far. It has given five seats to the Bains brothers’ Lok Insaaf Party. Shergill (48) is a former sarpanch of Jhingran Kalan village, Kharar. He joined AAP before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Kudani, 41, a farmer, joined the party in April last year. AAP had earlier fielded Himmat Singh Shergill from Mohali. Later, he was shifted to Majitha constituency in Amritsar district.