Over the years, AAP is steadily making its pan-India presence a reality. Now it is eyeing the PM's home turf

In 2017 the Aam Aadmi Party fought Gujarat assembly elections and lost it comprehensively. The state of Gujarat has been ruled by the BJP for 27 years with Congress being the main opposition party in the bipolar state. As the elections draw closer AAP is trying to make inroads into the state leaving its miserable performance in its debut elections of 2017 behind when it fought all and won none.

But since 2017 things have changed and it has reason to feel confident. Though it lost the assembly elections it did not give up and kept working at the grassroots level and building a cadre for it. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Gujarat has revamped its organisational structure by inducting Isudan Gadhvi and ex-Congress MLA Indranil Rajguru as national joint general secretary and joint secretary respectively. It has also appointed 850 office bearers ahead of Gujarat polls.The first sign of its emergence came in the municipal elections where it won 27 seats in Surat and congress won zero.It is a fact that Kejriwal has had national ambitions and he is working towards fulfilling them. In the very second attempt, it won the Punjab elections forming a second state government after Delhi. If Gujarat would be third remains to be seen. It is a fact that AAP is getting good responses in Gujarat. After the 27-year rule of the BJP, it has much to explain about the development and anti-incumbency is natural. The Congress, on the other hand, is in a disarray despite being the main opposition party its 12 MLAs crossed over to the BJP and many more are waiting in wings. AAP is targeting the development plank of the BJP by exposing its education system. It made a big issue of 'one teacher for 700 schools' and the closure of 80-odd government schools. AAP's forays into other states are now being taken seriously by all political parties after the Punjab win. The prime minister has also attacked AAP, the recent 'Rewri' jibe was directly against AAP; targeting of Manish Sisodia can also be seen in this light.But can AAP dislodge the BJP from the prime minister's home state remains to be seen? Even if it doesn't muster enough seats it would certainly damage the BJP by cutting its votes as both are urban-centric parties while the congress has a rural base. If the AAP can do Punjab in Gujarat it would become a real challenge for the BJP in 2024.