LUCKNOW: The Aam Admi Party’s announcement of taking part in the UP Assembly election in 2022 has created a buzz in the political corridors of the state.
The political pundits claim that AAP’s entry into the state’s political arena would certainly intensify the battle of UP in 2022.
The party has decided to field candidates on all 403 assembly segments and all the panchayat seats. The decision to this effect was taken at a two-day executive committee meeting of the party recently in Lucknow.
The usual four-cornered battle will have an extra dimension as the AAP would be locking horns not only with the national parties like the BJP and the Congress but also the regional satraps like Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).
Though the reality of the announcement made by the AAP would be proven in Uttar Pradesh after 14 months from now but according to political experts, in the wake of the current political equations, UP would not be as easy a battle to win for Kejriwal as Delhi.
The political analysts claim that the AAP’s decision to try political waters in UP would upset the applecart of opposition parties more than hurting the interests of the BJP.
“AAP leader Sanjay Singh has been making a political ground for his party in UP for the last 7-8 months. He has been leaving no chance to criticise the Yogi government over a number of issues but the AAP leadership should be aware of the fact that UP is not Delhi. People of Uttar Pradesh have an altogether different political temperament and the ground equations are also different,” says Prof AK Mishra, a political scientist at Lucknow University.
“In Delhi, AAP faces the challenge only from Congress and the BJP, but in UP, they will be fighting the regional biggies like SP and BSP which have their own 19 per cent and 24 per cent strong vote bank. Moreover, the recent bypolls have reflected that ther is no stron anti-incumbency against the Yogi government in UP, “ says senior political analyst Gyanendra Sharma.
However, before the final battle of 2022, UP will witness local body elections due next year. As AAP contemplates to contest the Panchayat polls also, it would be a test of its acceptability in the Hindi heartland’s towns and rural pockets.
As per the AAP sources in Lucknow, the party has been working hard to create a cadre base right from the block level to assembly constituencies in UP. AAP is ready to offer another political alternative to the people of UP as their grievances regarding health care and education have not been addressed by any of the parties so far, said an AAP office bearer.
Aam Admi Party had also tried hands at the 2019 Lok Sabha election in UP but failed to get acknowledged among the voters.