The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is planning to contest only 24 of 182 seats in the upcoming Gujarat elections, sources from the party said.
A senior party source said a survey was conducted in Gujarat districts and that the AAP is likely to contest from areas with a strong anti-incumbency factor against the Bharatiya Janata Party.
“The AAP was divided in its decision to contest the Gujarat Assembly elections in the first place. It was finally decided that the we will only fight from seats where there is a strong chance of pulling off a win,” said the source.
Urban centres
The party leader said the AAP is likely to contest from areas around Ahmedabad, Saurashtra and Surat, as voters in these regions were found to be leaning away from the BJP.
“The BJP has a stronghold in urban centres but around rural and sub-urban areas people are moving away from the BJP and these are the regions we will target,” the party leader said.
Sources said AAP workers will campaign in regions where the party will not contest to ensure the BJP does not come back to power in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home State.
The revelation comes two days after the AAP released its first list of 11 candidates. Of these, the sitting MLAs are from the Congress in just two constituencies. In the remaining nine seats, AAP candidates will play on the BJP’s turf.
Initial confusion
There was a lot of confusion over whether the AAP will contest the Gujarat polls, especially after a string of losses in Punjab, Goa and the Delhi municipal elections. Party chief and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was almost convinced till June that the party was unlikely to contest the polls in Gujarat.
“An elaborate presentation was made by leaders from Gujarat to show their preparedness. Because they are so confident, we decided to go ahead with it,” another party leader said.