AAP faces challenge on Baroda by-election front in Haryana

Ravi S Singh

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Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 7

The leadership of fledgling AAP in Haryana faces a tough challenge to dissuade its workers from supporting nominees of other political parties in the upcoming by-election for Baroda assembly constituency.

Although AAP leaders put up a brave front in public, in private they express apprehension of workers taking up sides with parties in the fray.

It would be difficult to wean them back in AAP fold after they get politically and emotionally enmeshed with rival politically parties.

“The AAP has decided not to support any political party. The workers have been directed to officially support a common nominee of all the panchyats of 54 villages in Baroda,” Haryana in-charge and AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sushil Gupta said here on Wednesday.

AAP’s decision against putting up a nominee has left its workers idle and hence vulnerable to the lure of electioneering by other political parties.

The Baroda election, and campaign for it, promises to be of high-wattage as the ruling BJP-JJP and the principal Opposition Congress have high stakes.

The INLD will press its “political armada” in the political combat to prove its credibility after its leader cocked a snook and formed the JJP.

To INLD leadership’s chagrin, the JJP came out trumps in the last Assembly elections in the state to the extent that it formed a coalition government with the BJP, and bagged the post of Deputy Chief Minister in Dushyant Chautala, to boot.

INLD leader Abhay Chautala has held a series of strategic meetings with senior leaders of his party regarding Baroda election.

There is a gnawing feeling in sections of the AAP that its workers can’t remain idle spectators in the midst of “Nagada-Dhol” atmospherics of the election in the Baroda hinterland.

As a premotive in order to keep the workers full with AAP, the leadership has given a call for “gherao” of residence of Haryana Chief Minister ML Khattar against the agri-products marketing laws which were enacted by Parliament last month.