A fresh entrant to the electoral politics, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) remarkably made its presence felt all across the Capital on the polling day. Although many political heavyweights preferred calling the infant party as ‘no competition at all’, the opinion polls carried out by the party along with other organisations seem to have partially reflected the high stakes of the AAP in the polls.
The youth, slum dwellers along with the upper-middle class seem to have opted for a third option this time leaving behind the major players — the BJP and the Congress.
Out of all volunteers of different parties helping voters with their voting slips, those from the AAP were most prominent as they wore their trademark skull caps, although bereft of the party's name. At many locations, the kiosks of AAP witnessed maximum crowd leaving those of the BJP, Congress and BSP deserted. Besides, till 11 in the morning, even in posh areas like Aditya Sadan at Ashoka Road in lutyens' Delhi, had 'no voters assistance desk', except that of the AAP.
Interestingly, voters supported the infant party despite being unfamiliar with the party's candidate in their own constituency. For them Arvind Kejriwal stands alone for the entire party. "Arvind Kejriwal is a highly educated man who is empathetic to the city's people. I personally support him because he has a good background in social service, RTI is one such example," said Rajni Jain, a resident of Patparganj. Several others believe that the AAP should be given a chance as the BJP and Congress have already had their share of forming the Government in Delhi. "The Congress and the BJP are big parties and we are aware of their history. The AAP is new and has made promises which I feel are realistic. It should be given a chance," said Ravindra Shrivatava from Rohtash Nagar.
Kejriwal-led AAP's canvassing strategy which comprised of extensive door-to door campaigns and merchandising in the form of badges, stickers, caps and posters has apparently worked wonders for the new party. "The campaigning of AAP was impressive. On many occasions, it projected a bigger support during its road shows in the 70 constituencies compared to that of the Congress and BJP. Kejriwal's efforts seem to be honest," said Rakesh Beniwal, a resident of Pillanji village.
Meanwhile, acknowledging the support it received in such a short span of time, AAP member Yogendra Yadav said, "The AAP entered politics at a point when people had lost faith in politics. No one believed that elections could be contested honestly. I express my gratitude to the 10,000 volunteers who participated in the Delhi Assembly elections." We have broken the monopoly of Congress voters in resettlement colonies, he added.
With inputs from Sanjeev Pal