Boost for AAP, but Haryana poll largely a BJP-Congress fight

The AAP campaign in Haryana appears to have got a boost with the Supreme Court granting bail to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal even as the state is set to largely see a direct fight between the BJP and the Congress.

AAP, which was previously in talks with the Congress for a pre-poll alliance, had to end negotiations on September 9 as neither party could agree on the number or choice of seats. This was a setback for AAP even though it had been claiming that it would form the government on its own in Haryana. The talks wasted crucial time for AAP, as several rebels from the Congress and the BJP were unable to join the party.

AAP has now fielded candidates in all 90 Assembly segments, with a majority being party workers. With Kejriwal set to campaign for AAP candidates in the coming days, the party seems to have gained a new lease of life. The party often refers to Kejriwal as ‘Haryana ka Lal’ (son of Haryana).

Banking on the AAP national convener, the party had launched its poll slogan, ‘Badlenge Haryana Ka Haal, Lekar Aayenge Kejriwal,’ on July 18 in Chandigarh. It had announced ‘Kejriwal’s Five Guarantees’ two days later during a workers’ convention in Panchkula.

Earlier, several AAP leaders have held rallies across the state with Kejriwal’s wife Sunita and Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann at the forefront. The party held 45 public meetings, one for every two constituencies.

AAP had contested the Kurukshetra Lok Sabha seat in alliance with the Congress this year. Although it lost, it led in four — Kalayat, Pehowa, Guhla (SC) and Shahbad (SC) — of the nine Assembly segments. The party’s vote share in the state was 3.94 per cent.

From Kalayat, the party has now fielded senior state vice-president Anurag Dhanda.

Reacting to Kejriwal’s release, Dhanda said, “This is a very happy moment for every AAP worker…Now we will defeat the BJP in Haryana.”

However, Prof Ashutosh Kumar from the Department of Political Science at Panjab University, said, “Former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda is calling the shots in the Congress. He torpedoed the alliance with AAP. So, AAP is now exercising ‘politics of presence’ while contesting all 90 seats with an eye on the future. As a political analyst, I can say that even with Kejriwal’s release, AAP’s chances may not improve. We saw his performance in Delhi during the Lok Sabha poll when he was released for campaigning. He could not make any impact there.”

He added, “It is a contest between the Congress and the BJP in Haryana. Whatever votes AAP gets will cost the Congress, but it will not make much of an impact.”

Meanwhile, Haryana AAP president Sushil Gupta said, “All conspiracies of the BJP have failed. …the Supreme Court has also sent a big message to the BJP that it will have to stop its dictatorship.”