Emerged as alternative to BJP, claims AAP

Ruchika M Khanna

Chandigarh, December 8

The Aam Aadmi Party broke into celebrations on Thursday on becoming the ninth national party since a decade of its inception. Party leaders say they took the bull by the horns when they decided to fight the BJP in Gujarat.

Party is thankful

The AAP’s performance in Gujarat has helped the party realise its national dreams. We will always be thankful to the people of Gujarat for making this possible. Harpal Cheema, Finance Minister

The leaders claim to have succeeded in creating their national public perception of being the alternative to the BJP for the 2024 General elections with vote share of 12.91 per cent on the BJP’s home turf.

As many as 300 teams of AAP workers, MLAs and ministers from Punjab had been campaigning in Gujarat for almost two months.

On why their focus was on Gujarat and not Himachal Pradesh, party leaders said they had gauged in the run-up to the elections that the lack of party cadre in the hill state as well as the low mobile penetration would make it difficult for them to campaign both physically and using technology for an electronic election blitzkrieg.

Agriculture Minister Kuldeep Dhaliwal, who initially campaigned in HP and later campaigned aggressively in Rajkot (Gujarat), said the party had laid the ground for the 2024 General elections by expanding its base in Gujarat.