A little over three weeks before Delhi goes to polls, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has finally formed its coordination committee in the Capital to work with the Congress on the ground.
The move is significant as the AAP had, in mid-April, announced its campaign ‘Jail ka Jawab Vote Se’ in East, West, South and New Delhi constituencies — the four seats where it is contesting — leaving out the other three on which Congress has fielded its candidates — North East, North West and Chandini Chowk. When asked about the selective campaign, AAP leader Gopal Rai had said the party will take a call if there is a request from the Congress. However, in a big shift on May 3, Rai was present when Congress candidate Udit Raj filed his nomination for the North West constituency.
AAP MP and General Secretary (organisation) Sandeep Pathak has formed a committee which will coordinate within the INDIA bloc — mainly with the Congress — for the upcoming elections in Delhi. For the first time, AAP and Congress are contesting elections in an alliance.
AAP’s Rajinder Nagar MLA Durgesh Pathak, who is also a member of the party’s highest decision-making body — Political Affairs Committee — will be the coordinator of the new committee which will have another seven members. These will be Rajesh Gupta in the New Delhi constituency, Naresh Balyan in West Delhi constituency, Dinesh Mohaniya in South Delhi, Pawan Sharma in Chandini Chowk, Mukesh Alwahat in North West, Sanjeev Jha in North East and Dilip Pandey in East Delhi constituencies.
Speaking to News18, Pathak said: “My primary responsibility is to ensure that there are no hurdles in the campaign in all the seven constituencies. It is to make sure that AAP and Congress fight as one force and not as a divided house.”
Pathak will schedule the availability of AAP and Congress leaders for each other’s campaigns, organise joint padayatras wherever necessary, and cover maximum ground via door-to-door campaigns. He will also share the party’s media strategy, issues and ground intelligence with the Congress.
Asked if top AAP leaders will be available to campaign in the three Lok Sabha constituencies that the Congress is contesting from, Pathak replied in the affirmative.
Similarly, it will be Pathak’s responsibility to ensure participation of Congress leaders in the constituencies where AAP is contesting, should there be a demand from the candidates. On whether Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s wife Sunita will lead road shows in these three constituencies, Pathak said: “Nothing is final yet. Our work is in the nascent stage now.”
Sunita Kejriwal has led two roadshows in Delhi in support of AAP’s East Delhi candidate Kuldeep Kumar and West Delhi candidate Mahabal Mishra. To begin with, the introduction of candidates of each party to the other’s cadre, MLAs, ex-MLAs and councillors is going on in all the seven constituencies.
Even though Sandeep Pathak had been talking about the need for a coordination committee ever since the alliance was finalised and was working on it behind the scenes, the announcement came after Congress North East and North West candidates Kanhaiya Kumar and Udit Raj met Sunita Kejriwal and expressed their support for the Delhi chief minister who is currently in judicial custody after being arrested on March 21 under charges of money laundering linked to the Delhi Excise policy case.
This renewed push in the AAP on the coordination committee is important in the context of Vidhan Sabha elections next year where there is already some talk of contesting in an alliance.
The move is also important as it comes in the wake of the storm unfolding in Delhi Congress unit following the resignation of its chief Arvinder Singh Lovely, former minister Raj Kumar Chauhan and two former MLAs. Even as the Grand Old Party moved quickly to accept Lovely’s resignation and appoint Devender Yadav as interim chief, the haemorrhage of some support in the grassroots is evident and does not bode well for the alliance. Lovely, it may be remembered, had cited alliance with AAP and tickets being given to Kanhaiya Kumar and Udit Raj among the reasons for his resignation.
Check Lok Sabha Election 2024 Phase 3 Schedule, Key Candidates And Constituencies At News18 Website.
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