The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) plans to contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in a focused manner, restricting itself to fielding candidates in around 100 seats, primarily in Punjab, Haryana and Delhi among the states in north India.
This is in contrast with the 2014 general elections, where the party had fielded over 400 candidates across the country, but managed to win just four seats in Punjab.
“The party feels that there is no point fighting in all seats. So, plans are to contest around 80 to 100 seats where we are in a better position to influence the results,” said AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, who is also the in-charge of party’s Uttar Pradesh and Bihar units.
Punjab, Haryana and AAP's home turf Delhi will be where the party would focus to win maximum seats in 2019, he said.
The party will also field candidates for some Lok Sabha seats in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. In Bihar and Uttar Pradesh too, AAP plans to field candidates in some seats. In Uttar Pradesh, the party is looking to contest in 10 to 15 seats, Singh said.
In Delhi, the AAP has announced in-charges for five of the seven Lok Sabha constituencies.
The fate of two parliamentary constituencies – New Delhi and West Delhi – for which no one was named in-charge amid rumours of a tie up with the Congress, is yet to be decided. However, AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal, during his visit to Haryana recently, ruled out the party's participation in any alliance.
In Punjab, where the AAP managed to win four Lok Sabha seats in the last Lok Sabha elections and is the main opposition in the state Assembly, efforts will be made to enhance the influence of the party, Singh said.
“We would like to increase our footprint in Punjab by winning more than four seats, this time,” the AAP leader said, adding the party may also contest in some seats in Gujarat where the organisation is strong.
Haryana is another state where the AAP aspires to open its account in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Party leaders believe that voters of Haryana, which is home state of Kejriwal and where local leader Naveen Jaihind has been involved in grassroots organisational work, are ready to respond favourably to AAP in the coming general elections.
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