AAP plans free services pivot for expansion in nine states

Fresh from its victory in the Punjab assembly elections, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has set its eyes on expanding its footprint in nine states, including eight that are election-bound, over the next 24 months.

AAP has decided to expand its organisational base in Haryana, Maharashtra, Kerala, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka. The decision was taken at an organisational review meet conducted by AAP convenor and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday.

According to sources, the party will start its organisational expansion from the village-unit level with a ‘gram sampark abhiyan’ (village contact programme). The target will be to cover all villages over the next six months and then strengthen the block and district level organisational structure. The party will also establish wings in the state units to address the aspirations of different sections including women, students, youth, Dalits and tribals.


Sources indicated that there would be an emphasis on involving youth in the party functions. The party will employ a different strategy for Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat, which are slated for elections in November and December this year. A senior AAP functionary, who did not wish to be identified, told ET, “In these two states we have identified specific constituencies where we have a good organisational base or strong candidates. We will concentrate on strengthening our organisation here.” Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh are slated for elections next year.

As it expands its base, AAP is preparing fresh promotional material to address questions on its ideology and politics. The functionary quoted above said, “The party is spelling out its ideology as an ideology of development’. Till now, when our volunteers went to villages during membership drives they used to tell people about our Delhi model. But this will now change –– we will talk about the need for development and how we will provide all the basic amenities free of cost.”

The change in approach has come after teams which went down to the village level told senior leaders that they came across villagers who had retained the party’s pamphlets distributed to them in 2013 or 2014 when AAP was still a fledgling party. “We had spelt out ‘party ka udeshya’ (aim of the party) in that. This will now change,” said the AAP leader. The biggest challenge before AAP is how to handle requests from leaders of other political parties who see an opportunity in a new party.

According to sources, Kejriwal stated on Tuesday that no leader being taken from another party should be taken with promises of plum party posts or tickets in the forthcoming elections. AAP has decided to follow arigorous process of screening before taking in political workers from other parties.