In AAP, the three main Punjab parties see a common enemy

CHANDIGARH : Being dismissed as “outsiders” by the three main political parties in Punjab has hardly dented the resolve of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). A silent undercurrent among voters has positioned the newest party on the state’s political scene as a contender to form the government after next month’s assembly elections.
Voters in rural areas, especially among the state’s youth, as well as sections of Dalits, seem to be backing the AAP in the run-up to the elections to the 117-seat assembly scheduled for February 4.”The Aam Party (as the AAP is commonly referred to in Punjab’s rural areas and towns) is attracting the youth. Many other voters have also become wary of the Akali Dal-BJP alliance and the Congress,” Happy Singh, a taxi driver from Samrala town, 65 km from here, told IANS.
The AAP, which has still not projected its chief ministerial candidate, is banking on its large army of volunteers to make an impact in a state where the fledgling party has seen grassroots support.In the 2014 Lok Sabha general election, four of Punjab’s 13 parliamentary constituencies elected AAP candidates to the Lok Sabha even as the Narendra Modi wave was sweeping large parts of the country. The AAP drew a blank elsewhere in the country.
“The fact that the Akali Dal-BJP and the Congress see a common enemy in AAP clearly shows how much ground this party has covered in Punjab in less than three years. People are fed up with the same leaders and the same old policies being projected by the Akalis and the Congress. Many voters want to see a change now,” said Swaran Singh, an agriculturist in Sangrur district.Despite internal bickering in the Punjab AAP unit, including the sacking of its state convener Sucha Singh Chhotepur and several units and leaders revolting before and after ticket distribution, the party leadership is confident of getting a majority on its own.