Bengaluru: The poor response to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) at the Lok Sabha polls may be a thing of the past for the state unit of AAP which is eyeing the BBMP elections. The party has cleared the ground to field its candidates for the 2015 civic body polls.
In a first step, the party has started training 115 AAP volunteers to work at ward levels. By early next year, AAP plans to train at least 600 workers to contest the election. Depending on various factors like candidate credentials and AAP strength, the party will decide in how many wards it will field candidates.
As of now, according to national executive committee member Prithvi Reddy, the party is working at the ground level to understand the needs of the people.
“Urban local body elections are the most physical elections. We are ensuring that our volunteers are familiar faces at their ward level. As elections get near, we will look at the candidate profile and our presence in each ward and field a candidate. By March 2015, we will have candidates trained with the required leadership skills,” Mr Reddy said.
From ‘Modi Wave’ to honest politics, the mindset of voters too is changing, added Mr Reddy who said people who had voted for BJP in the Lok Sabha elections were backing AAP for BBMP elections.
“There was a Modi wave during the Parliamentary polls. Everybody wanted to vote for BJP since they wanted Narendra Modi to win. However, the parameters for Lok Sabha election are different when compared with corporation elections. People say they want an honest party to win,” Mr Reddy added.
Putting up a tough fight against corporators may be a challenge for the party, but Mr Reddy is confident that AAP can write a new chapter.
“Bengaluru is a fertile ground for new politics. All these years we have had corporators with a criminal background. They have never been challenged as a party. This will change,” he added.
Muscle power apart, the party also depends on donor funds for functioning. When asked if the party had enough funds for the election, Mr Reddy said, “We did not expect the kind of response we received in Delhi last year despite us not spending any money. We want our work to speak for us and have already started work in two wards in Vijayanagar and we are sure these initiatives will work in our favour.’’
