Aam Aadmi Party AAP
The impressive showing in elections 01 December 2013 by a new party called the Aam Aadmi or Common Man's Party, made waves across the country. The year-old party, formed by activists who led an anti-corruption civil society campaign two years earlier contested only in the capital Delhi. It did not win a majority. But it stunned both main parties by taking nearly 40 percent of the seats in the national capital. Voters were attracted by its promise to overhaul a political system which many believe is steeped in corruption. ??Supporters celebrated in the streets, especially after the Aam Aadmi leader, Arvind Kejriwal, defeated Sheila Dikshit, a powerful Congress party politician who has been Delhi's chief minister for 15 years.
The party led by Arvind Kejriwal was formally given the name of the "Aam Aadmi Party" by its promoters, is noticeably different from the run-of-the-mill outfits that dot the political skyline. It came in the wake of a year and a half of sustained public protests - which more often than not took on dramatic forms - on corruption within the nation's political and administrative systems. Not surprisingly, the forerunner of the party was the forum led by the high-profile septuagenarian, Maharashtrian social activist Anna Hazare, that went under the banner of "India Against Corruption". This produced massive street protests in the Indian capital demanding an end to corruption. That anti graft movement petered out.
One of its main architects, former civil servant, Arvind Kejriwal, launched a political party in November 2012 vowing to clean up public life. From first appearances, AAP seemed to be an attempt to create a party structure that would gather around it educated middle-class Indians and professional people that typically emerge from this class, namely those who have kept away from party politics. Aam Aadmi Party stayed away from the traditional support bases of India’s political parties: community, caste, religion. Their single point agenda was to sweep away corruption. The symbol they have picked: a broom. Their supporters wear white caps with the words ”I am the common man.”
The Aam Aadmi Party’s bid for power in Delhi was initially dismissed as far-fetched in a city where India’s two main parties -- the Congress Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party held sway and where the Congress had ruled for the last 15 years. Aam Aadmi Party legislators unanimously elected Arvind Kejriwal as their leader in the Delhi Assembly. A decision in this regard was taken at the party's meeting in New Delhi 09 December 2013. Talking to reporters after the meeting, party leader Sanjay Singh said that the meeting discussed the future strategies and newly elected MLAs had been asked to continue door to door contacts with the people of their constituencies. He also reiterated AAP's stand that party would neither support BJP or Congress nor seek their support.
Aam Admi Party ruled out taking support of any political party to form the government. Its convenor Arvind Kejriwal said, it will play the role of a constructive opposition. Congress has ruled out supporting Aam Aadmi Party to form a government in Delhi. AICC general secretary in-charge for Delhi Shakeel Ahmed said, the party are not considering to support any party in Delhi.
With a better party structure, by 2022 the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was eyeing Uttar Pradesh (UP) in the upcoming assembly elections. States like UP, Uttarakhand and Punjab are on the top agenda for the party. The results in these states will determine if AAP can expand its leadership umbrella beyond Delhi and achieve ‘national party’ status.
When AAP's President, Arvind Kejriwal announced that his party would contest the UP elections in 2022, he highlighted how the state has been drowned in corruption. He spoke about how the state leaders are hampering the state’s development. With this, Kejriwal also spoke about the very known Delhi model and how it garnered success - a way by which Kejriwal plans on winning the seat in UP. “If government hospitals in Delhi can improve, people here can get free electricity 24*7, why can’t the same happen in UP?" he said during his speech.
Even after the party has become visible on the political circuit under Sanjay Singh (face of the UP poll campaign), there were multiple challenges that it can encounter. AAP's performance in many other states like Haryana and Maharashtra had already shown that their Delhi model is not enough to expand as a national party. Earlier n 2019, the party got fewer votes than those cast in favour of NOTA. According to the Election Commission, most candidates of the party secured less than 1,000 votes in the two states. In Delhi, AAP was fighting primarily against one opposition party, which is, the Bhartiya Janta Party. This is where it managed to gather support from different religious communities, including Muslims, Sikhs and Dalits. However, in its fight in UP, Kejriwal-led AAP will have to battle against Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP). While BSP retains its support among the Dalits, SP is still known for the support it has garnered from the Muslim and Yadav community.
There were speculations of an AAP and SP alliance, following a January 2022 meet up between SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and Sanjay Singh. A report by The Print suggests that senior members of both parties met multiple times to discuss the seat-sharing plans. However, they could not reach a consensus. “The idea of an alliance is not working. We will contest in all 403 seats on our own now,” Sanjay Singh was quoted in a report by The Print. Top leaders of both parties have not yet revealed the reason behind the talks not working out. However, a senior SP leader on the condition of anonymity said that SP, during the talks realised that they were not gaining anything as AAP does not have a specific support base in the state.
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