AAP’s 3-D pitch to woo voters

CHANDIGARH: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has tried to set the tone for the 2019 Lok Sabha election campaign in the Barnala rally on Sunday through a “3-D formula”, which includes wooing the Dalits, showcasing development via its Delhi model of governance and public confession of drinking habit of its state convener Bhagwant Mann.

Jupinderjit Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 21

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has tried to set the tone for the 2019 Lok Sabha election campaign in the Barnala rally on Sunday through a “3-D formula”, which includes wooing the Dalits, showcasing development via its Delhi model of governance and public confession of drinking habit of its state convener Bhagwant Mann.

The opinion is, however, divided within and outside the party on whether a big gamble has been played by the on-stage confession of alcoholism by MP Bhagwant Mann, who also took a vow in the presence of his mother to shun drinking forever.

CM Capt Amarinder Singh has suffered Opposition barbs on his oath taken during the 2017 Assembly elections to end drugs problems in Punjab within a month. Already, social media was abuzz today about the confession of Bhagwant Mann with rivals trying to poke him on the issue. Sukhpal Khaira termed the rally as “Mann’s daaru chuddao rally” than AAP’s “Punjab bachao rally”.

“Is Mann’s drinking a state problem,” chuckled a rebel AAP MLA. He said the party failed to address the issue of division within the party, desertion by several of the top leaders and NRI groups and apology to Akali minister Bikram Majithia on the drugs issue.

Party leaders have, however, rallied around Mann. Leader of Opposoition Harpal Cheema said Mann was the top leader and was quite brave to accept alcoholism in public. “Moreover, he has already stopped drinking. He was a victim of false propaganda also on the issue.”

Cheema and couple of other party leaders said Kejriwal had presented a positive agenda to the state ahead of the elections. “One can go on and on against political rivals but he showcased what the party has done in Delhi. When the AAP took over Delhi’s governance, the city had costliest power tariff, but now it is among the cheapest. The AAP can provide this system to Punjab and the entire country,” said Manjit Singh Sidhu, party spokesperson.

Almost half of Kejriwal’s address was focussed on Dalit issues, reflecting how important 34 per cent of state’s population in that category is in the coming elections. Kejriwal listed a number of Dalit leaders of the party who are holding top positions. He also announced that the party might try to have an alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party, which was the main Dalit party.