NEW DELHI: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said though the party has not won many seats in Gujarat but the votes it got helped it attaining the status of the national party. “I am thankful to the people of Gujarat for helping us attain the status of national party. Very few parties enjoy the status and now we are one of them. Ours is only a 10-year-old party,” the chief minister said.
Gujarat has been called a BJP “fortress”, however this time the people have helped AAP to make a dent in it, he said. “Hopefully, next time we will be able to win it,” added Kejriwal. Kejriwal also said that during the campaigning, his party and leaders never indulged in mudslinging or abusive politics. They only talked about positive things and the work done by the party in Delhi and Punjab where AAP is in power, he added.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said AAP is on course to become a national party, thanks to the votes given by the people of Gujarat. With counting of votes crossing the halfway mark in most constituencies of Gujarat, the BJP has received 53 per cent of the votes, while the Congress has 27 per cent votes and the AAP 13 per cent.
“AAP is becoming a national party due to the support of people. The politics of education and health is making a mark for the first time in the country. Congratulations to the entire country on this,” he said.
AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said that his party gained national party status in just 10 years and thanked the people of Gujarat for it. Singh said his party’s leaders worked hard.
“The AAP managed to bag the status of national party in just 10 years. That’s the pace of growth of this party. We got around 35 lakh votes in Gujarat. All leaders worked hard and visited rural areas in Gujarat. Gujarat is considered the home turf of the BJP, yet the AAP managed to get 35 lakh votes,” he said during a press conference.
To earn a national party status, a political outfit needs to be recognized in at least four states, and to be recognised as a state party, it needs to win at least two seats and 6 per cent of votes polled in the Assembly election. The Aam Aadmi Party on Thursday won five seats and secured 13 per cent of the popular vote in Gujarat.