Delhi Chief Minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal As it prepares to make inroads in Haryana, the Aam Aadmi Party has pumped in its might to make its proposed rally in Kurukshetra on May 29 — the party’s first after stunning performance in neighbouring Punjab in this year’s Assembly polls and to be addressed by national convenor Arvind Kejriwal — a success.
AAP Haryana in-charge Sushil Gupta told The Indian Express that they are expecting a gathering of nearly 2 lakh people at the “Ab Badlega Haryana” rally. The senior leader said AAP is the only viable alternative in Haryana where people are fed up with misrule of the BJP-JJP government and have already “rejected” the Congress.
“People want change. The change will start from Kurukshetra,” Gupta said, adding that the party has lined up nearly 2,000 small meetings to invite the people for the Kurukshetra rally. “As many as 22 MLAs from Delhi and Punjab have been assigned a district each in Haryana to hold meetings with local workers,” added Gupta, a Rajya Sabha member.
Buoyed by its performance in Punjab where it registered a landslide victory winning 97 of the total 117 Assembly seats, the AAP has increased its activities in Haryana, where it is eyeing to capture power in the 2024 Assembly polls. It has already inducted several leaders, including former Haryana Congress chief Ashok Tanwar, former Revenue Minister Nirmal Singh, and Singh’s daughter Chitra Sarwara in the recent past.
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Tanwar and Sarwara are members of an organising committee, headed by Gupta, formed to look after the preparations of the rally.
Tanwar said: “We are getting response to the rally as we have promised to offer an alternative politics. I am holding public meetings daily.”
The AAP leaders claim nearly 300 teams, each with 4-5 party workers, have been formed to visit the villages to invite people for the rally. As part of the preparations, the AAP will be putting up hoardings along highways. A video song has also been prepared.
The AAP leaders say party initially started getting positive response from the bordering areas of Punjab. It is one among the several reasons why it chose Kurukshetra to hold the rally apart from its religious importance being the land of “Dharam Yudh” fought between the Pandavas and the Kauravas during Mahabharta. The rally is being held ahead of the panchayat and civic body polls in the state, the dates for which are likely to be announced soon. The civic body polls may be the first test for the AAP in Haryana after its win in Punjab.
The AAP leaders believe Haryana’s close proximity to the national capital may also come as an advantage for the party in establishing a foothold in the state. Further, Kejriwal’s native place Siwani falls in Haryana’s Bhiwani district. The AAP had contested the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls from the state but could not perform well. Till now, the party has not fielded its candidates in the Assembly polls in the state. Though, AAP leaders claim that the situation has changed after the party’s win in Punjab.
“Like Delhi, people of Haryana also want good hospitals, good schools, round-the-clock power, employment to youth… Delhi model will come to Haryana too and we will form a government in the state after the next assembly polls,” said Gupta.
Meanwhile, the ruling BJP-JJP alliance and Congress are closely monitoring the development.
State Congress in-charge Vivek Bansal recently said: “There is a minuscule number of people in the Congress, the BJP and other parties who, after feeling left out and are looking for other avenues. Such people are joining the AAP. A hype has been created by AAP after their victory in Punjab.”
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