Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)
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Performance in state assembly elections, 2017
The road outside 6 Flagstaff House was set for a big party -balloons hung from the trees outside Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence, a large screen displayed the assembly results, and peppy Punjabi tunes blared. But as AAP began to struggle, the music faded. So did the crowd.
Finishing a distant second with 20 seats, behind Congress, the party was stunned into silence.
As the results sink in, the task of contesting Delhi's civic elections looks hard.The party's bid to expand its profile and claim a leading role in national politics has taken a hit. It must now look to protect its home turf. Observers, however, say AAP needn't tread warily on the national stage. Political commentator Shiv Vishwanathan said 20-plus seats was respectable but the party needed a longterm vision. Columnist Santosh Desai, too, does not see AAP as a regional party.“Its birth came out of a national agenda.AAP has not been about Delhi or restricted by geography ,“ he said.
The party , however, is being circumspect. The only statement Kejriwal made was on Twitter: “We accept the people's verdict. All karyakartas worked really hard. Our struggle will continue.“ Senior AAP member Sanjay Singh, who was actively involved in the Punjab election campaign, told TOI the result was unexpected. “Every survey showed AAP was winning. We will have to analyse what happened finally ,“ he said.
AAP's Punjab campaign started early and, some observers believe, peaked too soon. Its challenge lies in countering the impression that it was the beneficiary of a “protest“ vote and might prove to be a transient phenomenon. It will have to handle a resurgent BJP with the UP win possibly increasing the saffron party's appeal among the capital's large Purvanchali population. Migrant Purvanchalis in slums have backed AAP but demonetisation has given BJP significant outreach. BJP state president Manoj Tewari hali and JD(U) will be contest is a Purvanchali and JD(U) will be contesting all 272 municipal seats this time.
“We have started work for the Delhi corporation elections, but with this result we will have to be more careful. We cannot afford overconfidence. We will leave no stone unturned to campaign well for the next one month,“ said a senior party member.
