With only five days left for campaigning, the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) senior leaders are brimming with confidence. In a candid chat with IKNOOR KAUR, AAP leader and eminent political scientist YOGENDRA YADAV shared his views on BJP’s recent attacks on party convener Arvind Kejriwal, the enhanced vision of the party since lS elections and revealed his calculations on the number of seats the party is expecting to win.
The BJP has put together its entire national leadership for campaigning in Delhi. How is AAP taking thatIJ
There are two sides to the BJP onslaught — the visible and the invisible. The visible part doesn’t worry me very much. It shows their desperation. BJP’s entire campaign is negative and targets one individual. They have forgotten the elementary lesson of the lok Sabha campaign. This is what Congress tried to do with Modi. BJP is doing to us what Congress did to Modi. And I’m sure the results won’t be very different. What really worries me is the possibility that, like last time, media may be deployed to spread rumours, which sullies our image.
A lot of people left the party recently — and with bad taste.
AAP has had the misfortune, or fortune, of inviting a very peculiar lens. Anyone who exits is noticed and the hordes who enter miss the attention. AAP represents the best collection of honest citizens in this country. It is not that we don’t care about losses. If one colleague leaves, we are concerned and evaluate the reasons. We work very hard towards maintaining internal democracy, which in an Indian political culture is a daily struggle and I’m glad AAP works positively in this matter.
The party has undergone several changes since inception. How has the party evolvedIJ
As a political startup, we had a great beginning but then came a setback in general elections. However, we had already used the initial success to make an organisational presence. I think two or three things have happened within the organisation. One, we have gone to the booth level. In the last Assembly election, AAP was all enthusiasm but very little institutionalisation. Now we have organisational structures down to the booth level. Two, AAP now has a decent organisational structure even outside Delhi, thanks to Mission Vistaar, which we had launched after the general elections. last time, frankly, we were not prepared for the flood that came in after Delhi election. Now we are in a much better position to receive it and channelise it. The party has also moved forward on its policy agenda. We had issued a very detailed manifesto last time but this time with the Delhi Dialogue, we have provided for the first time a genuine blueprint for the city.
What are your expectations this timeIJ
If I mix three inputs — internal audits, political reports, credible media surveys and my own judgement — my expectation is that we are clearly ahead by four to five per cent.