KOCHI: The decision of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to stay away from the Thrikkakara Assembly bypoll five months ago had drawn flak from various corners. However, the party leaders called for a ‘conscience vote’ in the bypoll, citing that they were focused on expanding the outfit’s base in the state. It seems their efforts bore fruit as the party finished third ahead of the BJP in two of the four seats it contested in the recent local body polls.
Though the Congress-led UDF won the byelections in 15 of the 29 local wards in 11 districts and even wrested some seats from the CPM and BJP, an unseen trend evident from the results declared on Thursday was the performance by AAP. Political analysts are of the view that the voters are seriously thinking of an alternative like AAP to mainstream outfits. Apart from this, its ally Twenty20 lost the Pattimattom Ward 3 of Vadavucode block panchayat by a slender margin of 78 votes against the Congress candidate.
AAP’s better performance was in the Vannappuram division of Elamdesom block panchayat in Idukki district. Party candidate Roymon (Roy Plathottam) garnered 742 votes and finished third. The BJP candidate got only 527 votes in the division where Congress wrested the seat from LDF.
D Dhanuraj, chairman of Kochi-based think-tank Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR), said AAP has better chances for growth in the state. “After the Punjab victory, Kerala is top among the priority list prepared by the AAP. The policies put forward by the party are best suited for Kerala and it has a good chance to grow here. We couldn’t consider the trend of the growth now based on the local body poll results as they require a strong organisational set-up and influential leaders,” he added.
In Keerampara grama panchayat’s Muttathukandam ward AAP’s Suvarna secured 96 votes whereas BJP which finished fourth could garner only five votes. In Perayam B ward of Perayam grama panchayat in Kollam district, AAP got 22 votes and was behind BJP which could secure only 34 votes. In the fourth seat, Vathara ward AAP garnered 50 votes.
Dhanuraj pointed out that the results revealed another major fact- the organisational weakness of the BJP. “In the state, the party has weakened even at the ward level in some areas. It seems the party lost the enthusiasm it had in the previous years.”
Padmanabhan Bhaskaran, state secretary of AAP, said the performance of the party was a resonance of the work they carried out in the past year for strengthening the organisation. “Our ultimate target is 2025 local body polls and we are now focused on our ongoing membership and volunteer campaigns.”
AAP won ward 21 of Cherthala south grama panchayat in a byelection in 2015. Tomy Elasseril, a former panchayat president, resigned from the CPI to contest on AAP ticket in the by-elections and registered a win with a slender margin of three votes.