Inside AAP’s strategy against Modi and Rahul
January 19, 2014
New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has set its eyes on the upcoming general elections after a stunning debut in Delhi, and their war room is abuzz with anticipation for the 2014 polls. AAP strategists are busy scaling up their successful Delhi model: they are targeting the two rival prime ministerial candidates (Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi) in their home ground, reminiscent of Arvind Kejriwal’s insurgent attack on Sheila Dixit which flattened the Congress in Delhi.
Merely anti-Modi will not work in Gujarat
“We know that it is going to be a dismal show by the Congress, but we don’t want to be labeled as only anti- Modi,” said a key AAP strategist. “We will need to go after both parties, like we did in Delhi.”
There are two streams of thought inside AAP on candidate selection in Gujarat for the Lok Sabha polls. While one section wants the party to select big name candidates, the other wants to nominate real aam admi candidates. Some well-known baiters of Mr Modi – activists and former police officers – are seeking AAP tickets, trying to jump on their popularity wave. But AAP is treading a cautious path: the young party does not want any labels on its candidates when they go in for the big fight.
“If all those known to have fallen out with Modi are nominated as party candidates, we will be labeled as a party which nurtures only anti-Modi sentiments,” said the AAP strategist. “We need to strike a balance, to be clear in our thoughts. Giving tickets to those who have been running anti-Modi campaign will not do any good to us.”
The party has clearly learnt its lessons from the Congress’ repeated failures to sell the anti-Modi message to the Gujarat electorate. Making Mr Modi the focal point of the campaign only strengthened the Gujarat chief minister’s image with Guajaratis.
“Rather than focusing on Modi we should focus on our anti-corruption plank, not just in Gujarat, but nationally,” said another senior AAP member. “That will work better for us.”
Breaching the Gandhi bastion
Though the party is yet to officially announce Lok Sabha candidatures, Kumar Vishwas is all set to take on Rahul Gandhi from Amethi. Mr Vishwas is now gearing up to address the “Jan Vishwas Rally” in Amethi’s Ramlila grounds on 12 January.
According to AAP sources, 6,000 people have already joined the party in Amethi, and 100 volunteers are manning 10 offices in the constituency. Mr Vishwas has also challenged top BJP leaders like Mr Modi, Arun Jaitley and Nitin Gadkari to contest from Amethi.
“Why do they only slam the shehzada from stage?” asked the poet-turned politician. “They must come down to Amethi to join the battle. Are they afraid of fighting against Rahul or me? Lip service will not do, they must show some substance.”
According to Mr Vishwas, the campaign against Rahul Gandhi will be a direct attack on his poor performance as Amethi’s public representative: the constituency has not seen much development, he never asked any questions related to Amethi in the House, and he rarely even attended the parliament.
When asked what will be the party strategy in Uttar Pradesh, Mr Vishwas said the state faces maximum corruption in the country, perpetuated by both the national and regional parties, and therefore people will see AAP as a breath of fresh air.
The PM question
As it stands now the AAP will not officially announce Arvind Kejriwal as the prime ministerial candidate of the party for 2014. Mr Kejriwal has already announced that he will not fight the Lok Sabha elections, but will campaign nationwide.
AAP is betting on repeating its successful Delhi gameplan: they did not announce a chief ministerial candidate, but merely compared Arvind Kejriwal with Shiela and Vijay Goel & later Harshvardhan. Mr Kejriwal will continue to be the focus of the campaign, and by default the leader for whom AAP will ask for votes.
Among AAP’s recent high profile recruits, former banker Meera Sanyal is set to take on Milind Deora from South Mumbai (she lost to Mr Deora in 2009 as an independent). Air Deccan founder Captain Gopinath is likely to be fielded against Nandan Nilekani in Bangalore, while singer Remo Fernandez may fight from Goa.
- This story was first published in www.thepoliticalindian.com on January 19, 2014
January 19, 2014
New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has set its eyes on the upcoming general elections after a stunning debut in Delhi, and their war room is abuzz with anticipation for the 2014 polls. AAP strategists are busy scaling up their successful Delhi model: they are targeting the two rival prime ministerial candidates (Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi) in their home ground, reminiscent of Arvind Kejriwal’s insurgent attack on Sheila Dixit which flattened the Congress in Delhi.
Merely anti-Modi will not work in Gujarat
“We know that it is going to be a dismal show by the Congress, but we don’t want to be labeled as only anti- Modi,” said a key AAP strategist. “We will need to go after both parties, like we did in Delhi.”
There are two streams of thought inside AAP on candidate selection in Gujarat for the Lok Sabha polls. While one section wants the party to select big name candidates, the other wants to nominate real aam admi candidates. Some well-known baiters of Mr Modi – activists and former police officers – are seeking AAP tickets, trying to jump on their popularity wave. But AAP is treading a cautious path: the young party does not want any labels on its candidates when they go in for the big fight.
“If all those known to have fallen out with Modi are nominated as party candidates, we will be labeled as a party which nurtures only anti-Modi sentiments,” said the AAP strategist. “We need to strike a balance, to be clear in our thoughts. Giving tickets to those who have been running anti-Modi campaign will not do any good to us.”
The party has clearly learnt its lessons from the Congress’ repeated failures to sell the anti-Modi message to the Gujarat electorate. Making Mr Modi the focal point of the campaign only strengthened the Gujarat chief minister’s image with Guajaratis.
“Rather than focusing on Modi we should focus on our anti-corruption plank, not just in Gujarat, but nationally,” said another senior AAP member. “That will work better for us.”
Breaching the Gandhi bastion
Though the party is yet to officially announce Lok Sabha candidatures, Kumar Vishwas is all set to take on Rahul Gandhi from Amethi. Mr Vishwas is now gearing up to address the “Jan Vishwas Rally” in Amethi’s Ramlila grounds on 12 January.
According to AAP sources, 6,000 people have already joined the party in Amethi, and 100 volunteers are manning 10 offices in the constituency. Mr Vishwas has also challenged top BJP leaders like Mr Modi, Arun Jaitley and Nitin Gadkari to contest from Amethi.
“Why do they only slam the shehzada from stage?” asked the poet-turned politician. “They must come down to Amethi to join the battle. Are they afraid of fighting against Rahul or me? Lip service will not do, they must show some substance.”
According to Mr Vishwas, the campaign against Rahul Gandhi will be a direct attack on his poor performance as Amethi’s public representative: the constituency has not seen much development, he never asked any questions related to Amethi in the House, and he rarely even attended the parliament.
When asked what will be the party strategy in Uttar Pradesh, Mr Vishwas said the state faces maximum corruption in the country, perpetuated by both the national and regional parties, and therefore people will see AAP as a breath of fresh air.
The PM question
As it stands now the AAP will not officially announce Arvind Kejriwal as the prime ministerial candidate of the party for 2014. Mr Kejriwal has already announced that he will not fight the Lok Sabha elections, but will campaign nationwide.
AAP is betting on repeating its successful Delhi gameplan: they did not announce a chief ministerial candidate, but merely compared Arvind Kejriwal with Shiela and Vijay Goel & later Harshvardhan. Mr Kejriwal will continue to be the focus of the campaign, and by default the leader for whom AAP will ask for votes.
Among AAP’s recent high profile recruits, former banker Meera Sanyal is set to take on Milind Deora from South Mumbai (she lost to Mr Deora in 2009 as an independent). Air Deccan founder Captain Gopinath is likely to be fielded against Nandan Nilekani in Bangalore, while singer Remo Fernandez may fight from Goa.
- This story was first published in www.thepoliticalindian.com on January 19, 2014
No comments:
Post a Comment