The Delhi election result was a turning point in transforming the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) from a social activism group to a mainstream political party, said its national executive member Ajit Jha on Thursday.
Dr. Jha, a history professor in Delhi University and a known social activist, who was in the city to take part in roadshows in support of party candidate for Visakhapatnam Lok Sabha Kuna Raman and other Assembly nominees, said, unlike others, winning elections was not their sole motto.
In a chat with The Hindu , he said theirs was a movement.
“We are here to express anger, frustration of people, and their expectation. We are not aspiring for power or money. After making certain assessment of politics, we have found that the most people want a corruption-free administration. Once we formed a political party, though Ramlila Maidan was the epicentre, our main task has increased manifold,” Dr. Jha said.
To a question, he said it was wrong to presume that AAP became popular after Delhi election.
Turning point“It’s not true. Before Delhi mandate itself, we opened branches in 300 districts and formed some sort of structure in another 200 districts. We do admit that the Delhi result was a turning point in consolidating our support base through social media and other forms,” he pointed out.
Stating that in the first list of 20 candidates, they had included social activists like Medha Patkar of Narmada Bachao Andolan and Lingaraj of Odisha.
“We are firm on not only taking up corruption as a core issue but also fighting against multiple ills to empower people at the grassroots,” he said.
