Five-state results thumbs-down to BJP govt: AAP

Ananya Panda

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 11

The Aam Aadmi Party, whose candidates on Tuesday forfeited their deposits in Chhattisgarh, MP and Rajasthan Assembly elections, has clearly got the inkling of peril of spreading too thin during the 2019 general election notwithstanding the party downplayed its performance while terming the results of the five-state Assembly polls as an indicator of an “anti-BJP mood”.

Going by the readings of the AAP, results of the five-state Assembly polls is a “rejection” of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government at the Centre, its “arrogance”, its policies and something that largely points at how regional players are going to determine the sway of the 2019 general elections in a big way.

To what extent the AAP will be able to firm up its role in the changing contours of national political landscape is to be seen, but Delhi’s ruling party’s party for the time being will focus on ruling Delhi, Punjab where it forms the opposition and Haryana where it vows to defeat “BJP”.

Interestingly, “no mention” of the Congress in the evening by AAP leader and Delhi minister Gopal Rai while talking to reporters after a meeting with party workers in the national capital shows the party’s subtle softening of its stance towards the Congress at least as far as being united under an opposition umbrella is concerned for the 2019 general polls.

Both AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia claimed the Modi government will be dislodged from power in the 2019 Lok Sabha election saying the writing is clear on the wall.

“The countdown of (Narendra) Modi-rule has begun,” the Delhi chief minister tweeted.

Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP’s oft referred 2014 election slogan “Achhe din aanewale hain (Good days are coming)”.

“The BJP and its policies have been rejected. People are angry and shunned its arrogance. The whole hype created around development reforms has been burst. Wherever there are viable alternative opposition to the BJP people are going for it. The results are good for the country,” AAP general secretary Pankaj Gupta told the Tribune.

The AAP conveniently downplayed the wins of the Congress, its other major political opponent, in all the three states where its own candidates lost their deposits.

Former AAP leader Mayank Gandhi who claimed AAP’s vote-share to be 0.9 per cent in Chhattisgarh, 0.6 per cent in MP and 0.3 per cent in Rajasthan said, on Twitter: “If AAP had not compromised Kejriwal could have been have an alternative to Modi.”

“Come back to the original principles. Stop caste, communal vote bank politics. Stop corruption. Become the AAP that we had created,” he added.

The AAP noted the lack of stronger option than Congress forced the electorate to vote for the latter to “teach the BJP a lesson”, adding whereas the outcomes in Telengana and Mizoram Assembly elections went against it thus indicating the preference of regional forces other than BJP and Congress.

Party insiders told the Tribune the AAP is actually wary of the resurgence of the Congress in the second round of state elections prompting it to invigorate its campaign in-run-up-to the upcoming Lok Sabha election.

With today’s defeat realising well that the AAP is still not there on the national arena, Rai said the AAP had contested in the three states with an aim to expand the party-cadre and the “target is achieved”.

In Delhi the AAP today decided to initiate a “people-contact” programme on December 14 for the Lok Sabha election. “Through the outreach exercise we want to take the message that despite tampering of EVMs the BJP lost the five elections. So if people support there is no way that BJP can’t be ousted,” said Rai after the meeting held to strategise the future course of AAP.

“The defeat of the BJP has begun and people have given a thumbs-down to BJP’s arrogance and dictatorial attitude. In Delhi the AAP accepts the challenge and resolves to oust the ruling BJP,” said the AAP leader.