The Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday said Assembly poll results in five States show people want to get rid of an “autocratic” Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) Government at the Centre, and announced it will launch from December 14 a door-to-door campaign to defeat the saffron party in the Lok Sabha polls next year.
AAP leaders huddled at party convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence on Tuesday evening to discuss emerging political scenario and preparations for the Lok Sabha elections, as trends showed electoral reverses for the BJP in Chhatisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh and gains for the Congress.
The AAP, however, ducked questions on possibility of an alliance with the Congress. “We will start campaigning on all the seven Lok Sabha constituencies in Delhi from December 14. In view of these results, I believe that people will support the AAP and we will defeat the BJP,” senior party leader Gopal Rai said when asked about alliance with the Congress.
“The AAP believes the process of BJP’s defeat has begun and people want relief from its autocracy,” Rai said.
The Assembly election results in the five states show that people are favouring locally strong parties to defeat the BJP, he claimed.
“The AAP will accomplish this task in Delhi by defeating the BJP in Lok Sabha elections next year,” he said.
AAP’s own performance in Rajasthan, Chhatisgarh and Madhya Pradesh was lacklustre as it could gather votes fewer than ‘none of the above’ (NOTA) votes.
“The AAP was contesting elections in the three states with an aim of organisation expansion. The results only show that people have sided with those who can defeat the BJP,” Rai said about his party performance.
Under the party’s campaign for Lok Sabha elections, centres will be set up at all polling stations across Delhi. Teams of volunteers will campaign door-to-door spreading the message that despite “EVM manipulations” the BJP can be defeated with support of the people, he said.
Rai, the convener of the Delhi unit of the AAP, said candidates for the Lok Sabha seats in Delhi will be announced soon.
Meanwhile, senior AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said “2019 will be BJP Mukt Bharat (BJP-free India),”.The results of assembly polls indicate that people are fed up with jumla (rhetoric).”
Singh said the BJP should seek votes for the work it has done and not in the name of building Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
The AAP leader said farmers, youths, traders and women are “not happy” with BJP’s policies due to which the party seems loosing ground in the states it ruled.
On AAP’s performance in the assembly polls, Singh said his party fought elections with limited resources and its leadership. “It is a start for us. Our local leadership with limited resources fought the elections and worked hard,” he said.
