New Delhi, February 13
After its stunning debut in the Delhi Assembly elections, the Aam Aadmi Party is concentrating on maximising its presence in the Lok Sabha elections in anticipation of a fractured mandate.

Targeting smaller states where the electorate has no choice other than the two mainstream political parties - the Congress and the BJP — and regional players, AAP hopes to offer an "honest" alternative.

Banking on the plank of anti-corruption and criminalisation of politics, AAP aspires to break away from the existing "caste and communal" politics and considers defeating vote-bank politics as its biggest challenge in North India, including states such as Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh.

The AAP tactical move is to focus on small states and UTs such as Goa, Delhi, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Chandigarh, Pondicherry, Gujarat and Odisha. This will secure the "broom" symbol allotted to the AAP in Delhi at a national-level if it gets parliamentary representatives in at least xx states or is recognised as a state party in four or more states.

For a party to be recognised as a state party, its candidates must secure at least eight per cent of valid votes polled or a minimum six per cent of total votes polled and one Assembly seat for every 25 seats in that state.

While the party has received nominations for 425 Lok Sabha seats, it is still not clear on the exact number of seats it would contest. Sources said the party was in a dilemma: it could either increase the party base this time or wait to make an impact in the next polls and do a quality job.

"A highly-fractured mandate is expected and there are two streams of thought within the party — should we try to reach out from Kashmir to Lakshadeep or should the party adopt an 'arrive and conquer' approach? Should we be there to defeat the parties or leave a mark? We will follow the middle path," said a source.

AAP National Executive member Anand Kumar said, "We stand a good chance wherever there is no choice between the main parties and the regional parties. The focus is on seats where eminent people are involved in the criminal-politician nexus and nepotism or communalism is rampant. In that way, there is much unrest and a strong desire for change."

Adding that such examples were seen in Punjab and Haryana and to some extent in Uttarakhand, he said the AAP appeal was beyond expectations in big cities such as Bangalore, Mumbai and Chandigarh. "It's more like joining the people to clean Parliament of undesirable people with criminal backgrounds," he said.

The party would take a call on the number of seats it would contest on the basis of two indicators: good response to the anti-corruption movement over the last two years and the number of members enrolled in the last month-and-a-half under its Main Bhi Aam Aadmi Hun drive and the availability of applicants.

In the Delhi polls, where the AAP got nearly 30 per cent vote share, the party will contest all seven Parliamentary seats. It would fight 10 seats in Haryana, 80 in UP and two in Goa. it would contest all the Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Odisha, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan where the no of applicants has been high it anticipates good show.

However, in states such as Assam and Andha Pradesh, the party has not received many applications. In Jammu and Kashmir, the party has got an encouraging response from Jammu region, said AAP leaders.

AAP member Gopal Rai said the party had constituted 'search teams' to look for upright and potential candidates and the situation would be clear in the next two weeks.

With AAP hoping to fight out polarisation of votes, it has divided Lok Sabha constituencies into four categories: corrupt, criminal, communal and dynasty. On the radar are seats where MPs have either been declared corrupt or have a criminal background.

Of the 238 nominations that have been closed, the party is likely to release the first list over the weekend. The finalised names, as confirmed by AAP Political Affairs Committee (PAC) member Sanjay Singh, are Yogendra Yadav (Gurgaon), HS Phoolka (Ludhiana), Meera Sanyal (South Mumbai), Mayank Gandhi (Northwest Mumbai) and Kumar Vishwas (Amethi).

"After Delhi, people have high hopes from AAP. Our aim is to cut into caste and communal politics. For long, political parties have exploited the reservation issue and Mulayam Singh and Salman Khurshid had also made promises. We are not against reservation, but are against the politics of vote bank. We will give Modi a tough fight as people are going to opt for us and not substitute BJP," Singh said.

New Delhi, February 14
There may be much speculation about the Akali Dal eyeing the Amritsar Lok Sabha constituency, but it now seems certain that the BJP will retain it. Talking to The Tribune, BJP president Rajnath Singh said there were "absolutely no issues" with the key NDA ally regarding any matter, including the Amritsar constituency, currently held by BJP MP Navjot Singh Sidhu.

"We have perfect understanding with the Akali Dal. They have given us no such indication (about wanting to contest the Amritsar seat)," he said, putting a lid on the raging guesswork that the BJP might exchange Amritsar for some other constituency in its 10-3 arrangement with the SAD in Punjab.

Confident of the BJP-SAD combine doing "extremely well" on all 13 Lok Sabha seats of Punjab, Singh said that in the forthcoming General Elections, the BJP and allies would not just win from its traditional seats but also in states which were not its strongholds such as Odisha, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.

"Our aim is to achieve the target of 272+ and I am sure that the BJP will do extremely well everywhere, including Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir," he said.

Though the BJP president did not say much about the party's hunt for new allies and partners in the quest for the magic figure, on the possibility of the party's alliance with the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) in Haryana, he said there had been "no discussions" on the issue so far.

The BJP is in touch with many regional parties throughout the country and Singh said the situation would soon become clear. "We are working on various possibilities throughout the country," he said.

After the departure of the JD (U), the Akali Dal and the Shiv Sena are the only big allies in the BJP-led NDA alliance.

On Navjot Singh Sidhu's candidature from Amritsar, the BJP president said he did not think "there was any problem".

The BJP has in its kitty three parliamentary constituencies - Amritsar, Hoshiarpur and Gurdaspur.

Rumour are rife over Sidhu being at loggerheads with Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and his brother-in-law and Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia. Sources said the Revenue Minister was interested in the Amritsar seat and had many face-offs with Sidhu on issues related to Amritsar.

Though Sidhu has already announced that he could not think of contesting elections from any other seat but Amritsar, speculations on the issue abound. His name tops the list of candidates for the seat but sources said the BJP leadership was under pressure from its allies on the issue.

The ‘perfect understanding’

BJP president Rajnath Singh says there are “absolutely no issues” with key NDA ally Akali Dal on any matter

He says the BJP has a perfect understanding with the Akali Dal, putting speculations to rest about it planning to field a candidate from Amritsar

Currently, BJP MP Navjot Singh Sidhu (in pic) represents Amritsar

The BJP has in its kitty the three parliamentary constituencies of Amritsar, Hoshiarpur and Gurdaspur

Patiala, February 14
Three-time Member of Parliament from Patiala, Preneet Kaur was picked as the Union Minister of State for External Affairs during her present term. 

Though she has nothing much to boast about in terms of introducing projects that created job opportunities or helped her constituency as a whole, she is still considered to be the face of the royal family and a lone connect who is constantly available for people even as her husband and Patiala MLA Capt Amarinder Singh is not.

The Patiala MP has spent Rs 17 crore she had received under the Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) during her 15th Lok Sabha tenure. Of the total funds, she has spent Rs 3.19 crore on construction and maintenance of dharamshalas and community centres. Rs 10 lakh each have been allocated to Jammu and Kashmir and West Bengal. The District Bar Association had received a water purifier from the funds. She has completed all her projects well in time.

"I have bagged Rs 150-crore Central fund to upgrade Government Rajindra Hospital and I consider it to be my biggest contribution so far. The funds will surely improve the health facilities here," said Preneet Kaur, who is also the lone applicant for the Congress MP ticket from Patiala.

"I am also trying to get the Sports Authority of India (SAI) regional centre in the city, which will help create further employment opportunities for the youth," she said, adding that she had also got approved Rs 250-crore grant from the Sports Ministry during the last Budget to set up the National Institute of 
Sports (Coaching).

Not agreeing with the incumbent MP, senior SAD leader Prem Singh Chandumajra, who was defeated by Preneet during the last MP elections, said the Congress MP has failed to get any project for the state despite being a Minister of State. "Her entire contribution has been limited to consolidating her vote bank in villages as her MPLADS funds have gone to dharamshalas and other works in villages, neglecting the overall development of people," said the former Patiala MP.

Ridiculing her opponent, the Patiala MP said she could have bagged more projects for the state if the law and order situation was better. "The state government has failed to provide an environment that is conducive to investors," she said.

On her chances of winning the elections, Preneet said she had worked closely with the people of the state and was hopeful of returning back to power for the fourth term. "I am not one of those leaders who meet people only before the elections. Despite my busy schedule at the ministry, I have been generously touring my constituency and meeting people," she said.

She said: "I hope that despite anti-incumbency, I will surely win the fourth term as I have full faith in people."

Criticising Preneet's style of working, senior SAD leader Charanjit Singh Dhaliwal, brother of Cabinet minister Surjit Singh Rakhra (one of the top contenders for the SAD ticket from Patiala) said Preneet had failed to get any rail link for Patiala. "People of the constituency will question her this time as to what has she done for them in the past 15 years. Merely meeting people does not mean that the MP has done her job," he said, adding that her role in the Lok Sabha was also under the scanner where she had failed to rake up important cases pertaining to her constituency.

Meanwhile, taking a dig at the MP, Lehal resident Sonia Bala said she had only seen Preneet attending religious or political functions. "She should be vocal in her role as a local MP and make sure that she does something for better utilisation of her funds in the city," she said.

Local lawyer Sunpreet Singh said: "The MP has been approachable most of the times, but she has failed to bring any centrally sponsored project, which can create job opportunities, for the district. She is our voice at the Centre and she is a success for the Patiala electorate if she helps people bag better jobs."

Dehradun, February 14
It's an uphill task for the ruling Congress in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections in Uttarakhand. Though the party had won all five Lok Sabha seats -- Almora, Nainital, Tehri Garhwal, Pauri Garhwal and Haridwar - in 2009 despite the BJP ruling the state, a repeat of its performance poses a steep challenge.

With a resurgent BJP buoyed by the popularity of its Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, the Congress would be going to the polls with its back towards the wall. The performance of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government that has been in the middle of several scams, rising inflation and the state government's "non-performance" in tackling the 2013 Himalayan tsunami, would be the top deciding factors.