Buoyed by its victory in the recently held Assembly elections in Punjab, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has stepped up its efforts to challenge the Bharatiya Janata Party government in the neighbouring Himachal Pradesh, where the polls are due later in 2022.
To ensure that it continues with its winning streak, the AAP has kick–started a State–wide membership drive to consolidate the support base across the 68 constituencies. The State unit intends to achieve a target of 10 lakh members. It claims that it has 3.25 lakh members in the State.
In no mood to waste any time, the party has set the ball rolling through political activities. Party’s national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal along with Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann would visit Mandi — home district of Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur — on April 6 to hold a roadshow to send across a message about the party’s presence.
AAP leader and State spokesperson Gaurav Sharma told The Hindu that the party is providing an ‘alternative’ to the people of the State, who are fed up with the BJP and the Congress as well, due to their anti–people policies over the years. “Since the AAP won in Punjab on March 10, over 75,000 people have become our members in Himachal Pradesh — this speaks volumes of the support we are garnering in the hill State,” he said.
“We have successfully delivered in Delhi and now we have won in Punjab. The people in Punjab have shown faith in the party and now we are approaching the people of Himachal Pradesh with our achievements and performance. Our immediate focus is the forthcoming election of the Shimla Municipal Corporation. We will contest all 41 wards for which preparations at the grassroot level have already been started,” said Mr. Sharma.
Mr. Sharma said traditional parties — be it the Congress or the BJP — have been over years ignoring people’s interests, especially the government employees. “Thousands of employees have been protesting and demanding implementation of the Old Pension Scheme but the government is in deep slumber. The AAP will ensure that on assuming power, the scheme will be implemented. Also, for the outsourced employees, we will bring a policy and regularise them. The new recruitment will be direct and regular. Providing free electricity and water to a certain extent is also on our priority list,” said Mr. Sharma.
