AAP’s entry in Uttar Pradesh may hurt regional parties more than BJP

LUCKNOW: The Aam Aadmi Party will contest all 403 Assembly seats, besides panchayat polls, in Uttar Pradesh, lending one more dimension to the traditional four-way contests involving the SP, BSP, Congress and the BJP in the state. 

Though the Assembly polls are 14 months away, observers say Delhi CM and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal will have to be ready for a scenario in which his party’s entry would hurt the other players more than the ruling BJP.

“AAP leader Sanjay Singh has been working to make some inroads into UP. However, the AAP leadership should realise that people in the state have an altogether different political temperament and the ground situation varies from one district to another,” says AK Mishra, political scientist at Lucknow University.

“In Delhi, AAP faces challenge only from the Congress and BJP. But in UP, it will be up against regional powers such as the SP and BSP which have their own vote banks. The recent by-elections have shown there is no anti-incumbency against the Yogi government,” says political analyst Gyanendra Sharma. Ahead of the 2022 Assembly polls, UP will witness local body elections next year.

The AAP’s decision to contest the panchayat polls will test its acceptability in the Hindi heartland. The party had contested the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in UP but had failed to register its presence.

An AAP office-bearer said the party is working to build a cadre base right from the block levels to Assembly constituencies, with its focus on hard-selling the healthcare and education models of the Delhi government which it claims to be a success.

Local polls next year will be a test

UP will witness local body elections next year. The AAP’s decision to contest the panchayat polls will test its acceptability in the state. The party had contested the 2019 polls in UP but had failed to register its presence.