AAP to contest all Lok Sabha seats in Punjab, Chandigarh
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal has declared that his party will contest all 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab and one in Chandigarh in the upcoming general elections. Kejriwal stated that candidates for all 14 seats would be announced within the next 10-15 days. "Just like you had supported us two years back, I would like to seek your blessings to let AAP win in all 14 seats by pressing on the 'broom'," he said in Almoh, Punjab.
Why does this story matter?
The announcement is another nail in the coffin for the Congress-led Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), which was formed last year to take on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the general elections. The Mallikarjun Kharge-led group recently lost its two key regional leaders, Nitish Kumar and Mamata Banerjee. In Uttar Pradesh too, the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party (SP), a member of the INDIA bloc, had announced its candidates for 16 seats in Uttar Pradesh.
AAP's election strategy in Punjab and Haryana
While launching the Ghar Ghar Ration Scheme in Amloh, Kejriwal reminded voters of their support in the Assembly elections two years ago, where the AAP won 92 out of 117 seats. AAP leader Sushil Gupta also disclosed that the party will run alone in all 90 assembly seats in Haryana. Another small but influential party in western Uttar Pradesh, the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), has indicated an imminent alliance with the BJP.
BJP claims INDIA bloc is crumbling
The BJP was quick to notice the AAP supremo's shift in tone, with National Spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla claiming that the INDIA bloc's structure was crumbling. He criticized Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, calling it more of a "bye bye yatra" and saying, "No mission, no vision, only commission, only corruption, only confusion, only contradiction." Poonawalla suggested that Gandhi should have focused on an "INDI jodo yatra" instead.
