After its dismal performance in the Lok Sabha polls where it failed to win even a single seat, Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal is in no mood to take any chances. Even as the possibility of fresh Assembly polls seems imminent, the former Delhi Chief Minister has blown the poll bugle. He is personally chalking out the strategy and supervising its implementation on the ground.
As part of the preparations, all the 27 AAP MLAs (one of them Vinod Kumar Binny had been expelled from the party) have divided their Assembly segments into several small units and are holding mohalla sabhas to take public opinion on how to spend the MLA Area Development Fund.
To mobilise the masses on the issue, the party has also launched a publicity blitz on FM radio informing people that they can approach their AAP MLA for getting their works done.
During the organisation of public meetings, party volunteers have been asked to distribute in large numbers the pamphlets of Mr. Kejriwal explaining why he resigned.
The AAP has also instructed all its volunteers to fan across all the Assembly segments of the city and implement the AAP poll strategy.
According to the local AAP leaders, Mr. Kejriwal is meeting party MLAs on a daily basis and seeking people’s feedback on organising mohalla sabhas from them.
“Mr. Kejriwal is meeting MLAs every day and is asking them to cover the maximum areas and population of their respective Assembly segments through these public meetings,” said Durgesh Pathak, a member of the party’s Delhi unit.
The party has also started the process of putting in place booth in-charge for 11,763 polling booths. The AAP has now issued a form for the appointment of all booth in-charge.
Planning a wider role for the AAP booth in-charge, the party has explained that the holder of this post will not only work during elections by forming his own team of volunteers, but would also be entitled to a bigger role in the event of the party forming the government.
Through mohalla sabha and appointment of booth in-charge, the AAP has been seeking to not only mobilise its rank and file which was demoralised after the party’s shocking performance in the Parliamentary elections, but also prepare them to face fresh polls.
Asked if the party was ready to counter and dispel the ‘negative impression’ about it among the voters, Mr. Pathak replied: “There may be a negative feedback on the ground, but that in no way indicates that we have lost touch with the common people on the ground or we have lost our support base. We have improved on our vote share in the Assembly polls which shows that our vote base in intact. All we need to do is to work hard and go the extra mile to convince the electorate about our track record and sincerity.”
