The Aam Aadmi Party will emerge as the main contender to the ruling BJP in Gujarat, where the Assembly elections are due in December this year, a state AAP leader has claimed. Since decades, the BJP and Congress have been the dominating political forces in Gujarat, but some political observers say like in Delhi, the AAP now has a good chance to take on the BJP.
Notably, several exit polls recently forecast a clear majority for the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP in Punjab, where the Assembly elections were recently held. The results would be declared on Thursday.
"With blessings of the people of Gujarat, the AAP will emerge as the main contender to the BJP in Gujarat. The Congress has been rejected by people here for the last 27 years," AAP Gujarat spokesperson Yogesh Patel told PTI.
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"The Congress does not have the will or vision for Gujarat, while we are offering an alternate model of development on the basis of the Arvind Kejriwal government's work in Delhi,” he said. He claimed that people are tired of the 27 years of BJP's "misrule" and will give a chance to the AAP.
“Be it education, electricity, health or water, the BJP has not been able to deliver to the basic amenities to the people of the state and we hope considering this, they will give us a chance,” Patel said.
He claimed the state Congress is controlled by just five-six leaders, each having their own group and fighting among themselves.
"The Congress also does not allow fresh faces to come up. So, the people will vote for us,” Patel said.
Political analyst Dilip Gohil also claimed that the AAP has a "real chance of emerging as a political force in Gujarat" in the elections due later this year.
"Earlier, people of Gujarat had a third alternative in the form of parties founded by rebels from the Congress and BJP, but they were rejected by voters,” he said.
Notably, Congress rebel Chimanbhai Patel had formed the Kisan Mazdoor Lok Paksh (KIMLOP), while BJP rebel Shankarsinh Vaghela's Rashtriya Janta Party (RJP) and Keshubhai Patel's Gujarat Parivartan Party (GPP) were the other options for people in the state, but they did not get support from voters.
“The AAP is a genuine party with an alternate agenda. In the recent municipal corporation elections in Surat and Gandhinagar and in some other municipalities, the AAP got 18 to 20 per cent of the votes, which indicates the party has considerable support in the state,” Gohil said.
If the AAP can increase its vote share in the Assembly elections up to 25 per cent, it will affect the Congress, as the BJP has a committed vote bank, he said.
“The BJP is taking the AAP challenge seriously and is trying to ensure no Congress rebel goes to Kejriwal's party. It is also trying to attract AAP leaders and corporators to cross over to the BJP. This proves the BJP is also thinking that AAP is a serious contender,” Gohil claimed.
“The AAP needs to focus more on which social groups to target as its potential voters. They have targeted Patels and the Other Backward Classes (OBCs). They need to be more clear on this,” he said.
On the other side, the Congress is confident that it will remain BJP's main rival in Gujarat, and claimed the AAP is "B-team" of the saffron party.
“The BJP is promoting AAP in Gujarat. Now, the BJP has realised it cannot win Gujarat as people have come to know itsreality. They are promoting AAP so that the opposition votes can be divided and they are able to win polls,” Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi said.
The people of Gujarat have never approved the third alternative, be it the KIMLOP, RJP or GPP, he noted.
