NEW DELHI: The announcement of Gujarat assembly elections has set the tone for a high voltage contest in the state where Aam Aadmi Party has been aggressively trying to position itself as an “alternative” to BJP as it hopes to cash in on the perceived decline of Congress as the primary opponent in the state that is a saffron bastion and home turf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Soon after the announcement, AAP national convenor and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal was seen appealing in Gujarati in a video message posted on twitter seeking a chance to lead the state while listing the “welfare guarantees” including the promise of world class schools, mohalla clinics, free electricity and more.
For AAP which is in government in Delhi and Punjab and has two seats in Goa assembly, the outcome of this election is clearly very critical as winning seats will help the party to make it to the league of a national party and set the tone of its campaign ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in 2024.
Gujarat will also be a testing ground for how far the voters of the state who have chosen BJP for 27 years are swayed by Kejriwal’s idea of replicating his projection of the ‘Delhi Model’. AAP’s campaign is strongly hinged to the “welfare guarantees” like free electricity for up to 300 units, promise of world class schools, health facilities and creation of employment opportunities for the jobless among others.
AAP’s campaign in Gujarat has been largely dominated by roadshows and jan sabhas with Kejriwal himself and with deputy CM Manish Sisodia steering the outreach on ground.
However, aware of the deep seated votebank politics at work in the state, Kejriwal’s attempts to woo BJP voters hooked to the latter’s Hindutva outreach have not been missed by his critics.
Going all out with a campaign hinged on welfare and anti-corruption, Kejriwal is clearly banking on the low income and marginalised sections that see in AAP a space to highlight their unaddressed issues.
Going all out with a campaign hinged on welfare and anti-corruption, Kejriwal is banking on the low-income and marginalised sections that see in AAP a space to highlight their unaddressed issues.
Soon after the announcement, AAP national convenor and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal was seen appealing in Gujarati in a video message posted on twitter seeking a chance to lead the state while listing the “welfare guarantees” including the promise of world class schools, mohalla clinics, free electricity and more.
For AAP which is in government in Delhi and Punjab and has two seats in Goa assembly, the outcome of this election is clearly very critical as winning seats will help the party to make it to the league of a national party and set the tone of its campaign ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in 2024.
Gujarat will also be a testing ground for how far the voters of the state who have chosen BJP for 27 years are swayed by Kejriwal’s idea of replicating his projection of the ‘Delhi Model’. AAP’s campaign is strongly hinged to the “welfare guarantees” like free electricity for up to 300 units, promise of world class schools, health facilities and creation of employment opportunities for the jobless among others.
AAP’s campaign in Gujarat has been largely dominated by roadshows and jan sabhas with Kejriwal himself and with deputy CM Manish Sisodia steering the outreach on ground.
However, aware of the deep seated votebank politics at work in the state, Kejriwal’s attempts to woo BJP voters hooked to the latter’s Hindutva outreach have not been missed by his critics.
Going all out with a campaign hinged on welfare and anti-corruption, Kejriwal is clearly banking on the low income and marginalised sections that see in AAP a space to highlight their unaddressed issues.
Going all out with a campaign hinged on welfare and anti-corruption, Kejriwal is banking on the low-income and marginalised sections that see in AAP a space to highlight their unaddressed issues.
