The workers of Aam Aadami Party (AAP) here are keenly awaiting the decision of central leaders on contesting the ensuing assembly elections. The Political Affairs Committee (PAC) of the party would meet in New Delhi on January 9 and would take a decision on the proposal of the state unit to contest the elections.
The state convener of the AAP, Chandra Shekhar Bhatt told The Pioneer that the state unit is ready to contest the election. “The state unit has sent one line proposal to central leadership about its willingness to contest the assembly elections. Our organisational structure is ready and the workers are eager to contest the elections. Now it is for the PAC to take a decision on the issue,’’ he said. Bhatt further informed that the state unit is ready to contest in all 70 assembly segments.
It is learnt that the central leadership is not too keen to contest the assembly elections as it wants to concentrate more in Punjab and Goa where the political stakes of the party are much higher. The state party leaders are however keen to test electoral waters and many of them are could take plunge as independent candidates if the party decides not to contest the elections.
Some of the local leaders are advocating that irrespective of recent exodus of leaders from the party, the AAP is in position to provide an alternative to the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party in Uttarakhand. Some leaders insist that the popularity of Arvind Kejriwal combined with the fact that AAP is in power in Delhi and is a serious contender in Punjab could elicit a positive response of the electorate in Uttarakhand too if the party decides to enter the electoral battle.
Others however opine that it is now too late and it would be better if the party maintains a distance from these elections.
During the run up to General Elections of 2014 the AAP undertook an aggressive campaign in the state and projected itself as a third alternative to the BJP and Congress before the people of the state.However all the five AAP candidates in the state forfeited their security and they were not even among top three contestants in state.