After its superlative show at Delhi, the Aam Admi Party has set its sight on the next round of Assembly elections and the Lok Sabha polls. The party has made its vision and mission clear after announcing its plans to field its candidates in most seats of the Lok Sabha polls and the Maharashtra Assembly election slated for the end of 2014. The noteworthy point is that the decisions were not provoked by high delusion of its Delhi success but rather by the overwhelming support from far and wide, including influential Bollywood stars, and the enthusiasm shown by new members all over India – 3,00,000 of whom joined the party in Maharashtra in the last three weeks.
No doubt, the growth of the party could be regarded as a new dawn and a scenario changing experience in the political annals of India. The common man`s party is at the moment `the political party` and you can hate it or like it, but you cannot afford to ignore it. It is not just the Congress or its main adversary the BJP that are thrown into consternation by its rise, because the party is making inroads into the territories of many reputable regional parties in the Hindi heartland and now is striding ahead with confidence in Maharashtra. The AAP has a countenance of preparedness, if not the shine of impeccability. And it is this perpetual confidence and pugnacious attitude that has instilled hope among the common people that their wish for an alternative to the BJP and the Congress had been fulfilled.
The party has not slow down its insatiable thirst for expansion since its formation one year ago. The AAP government at Delhi is not at all safe by any means in the backyard of the two mighty political parties that have been watching without flipping their eyes for a false move. Despite this, the AAP had gone ahead on its own boldly and showed by its activities that it wanted to span out its wings and become a pan-India political party by riding on the decades of dissatisfaction with the national and regional parties. A key AAP leader Prashant Bhusan is on the course of a reconnaissance tour in the south. It has establised units in the southernmost state of Kerala, something which augurs well for the party`s future. Yogendra Yadav is focusing on Haryana, the native state of Kejriwal. There will be no shortage of candidates for the party from any part of India at the next Parliamentary elections. Whether it can translate its aspirations into realities is the big question. Its leaders have made positive moves.
But, the wonderful rise of the AAP has indeed put the skids under plans of the Congress and the BJP because the loss of a few constituencies due to the presence of the former would translate into loss of power at the Centre.