Gujarat Assembly Elections: AAP's high-decibel campaign has little appeal in Saurashtra

The Aam Aadmi Party may be running a high-decibel election campaign in Gujarat but it has a limited appeal in Saurashtra.

AAP is the most watched out for party ahead of the election. Following its success in the Punjab election in March, the party is trying to find a toehold in Gujarat, which has largely witnessed a direct contest between the incumbent BJP and the Congress. ET travelled through Saurashtra region to gauge the electoral appeal of the fledgling party.

RESTRICTED INFLUENCE

The AAP's influence is visible in a restricted manner in several constituencies. The most visible impact is in Khambhalia, a Congress stronghold from where the AAP has fielded its chief ministerial candidate Isudan Gadhvi. He has a mass appeal and several villagers openly say that "parivartan aave chhe" (change is coming). His popularity is evident among farmers, who want free electricity and better rates for different crops. However, there is no groundswell for the Delhi-based party. An important reason is lack of cadre. The election, including Gadhvi's own, is being managed by teams being flown in from Punjab, Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan.

VOTE-TO-SEAT CONVERSION
In 2017, AAP had tried its luck at the hustings by fielding 29 candidates. The party polled 0.62% of the votes in the seats contested and saw the deposits of all its candidates forfeited. Usually, a party sees conversion of votes to seats once it touches 30% of the vote share. The AAP faces the daunting task of increasing its vote share to 30%. Gadhvi struck a note of confidence as he said the Congress will not cross 10 seats in Gujarat, indicating his expectation that the AAP would successfully eat into the opposition party's vote share.

TRUST DEFICIT
Though there is curiosity about the "Delhi model" being spoken about by AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal, many voters are watching the new party with scepticism. Prateekbhai, a resident of Rajkot, said, "We have a lot of problems because of BJP rule. But Gujarat is not like other states where free bijli-paani is required. I am sure there is some hidden tax " In cities, middle class voters are afraid that they would have to bear the cost of freebies being promised to the poor.