In a candid chat, senior Aam Aadmi Party leader Manish Sisodia told Pragya Singh that bijli pani will play a major role in the upcoming Assembly elections and, once elected to power, the party’s development agenda will be to provide a dignified life to Delhiites. He also criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party, calling it “a faceless outfit in Delhi”, and claimed that AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal is the people’s choice for chief minister.
What is the party’s strategy for the forthcoming Delhi elections?
Most importantly, to connect with every voter in the national capital. The party’s volunteer base has already initiated an aggressive door-to-door drive to meet people at the booth level, make them aware of the AAP’s vision for Delhi and understand people’s requirements. As the elections draw near, active campaigning will start and volunteers from other states along with local volunteers will make concerted efforts to make this election a success for the party. Approximately, 15 to 20 thousand volunteers will be required for the campaigning, but this figure might vary per Assembly and per booth.
The BJP hasn’t announced its chief ministerial candidate yet. Your comments.
The BJP is a leaderless party in Delhi. The party doesn’t have a vision or a visionary leader for Delhi. Due to this, people are scared that they could get a chief minister who is more into preaching. Being a modern and a technologically advanced city, Delhi does not require a conservative leader who believes that girls should be confined to homes or Delhiites should not celebrate Valentine’s Day. If tomorrow the city gets a chief minister whose prime focus is not on development of the crucial sectors such as power, water, better road infrastructure and education, but is on religious conversions, Delhi will be left cheated. For this reason, people have faith in Mr Kejriwal and the BJP doesn’t have a leader to match him. Last time, when they (BJP) were trying to form a government through horse-trading, they had proposed Jagdish Mukhi’s name. If tomorrow they put another leader in the forefront, he or she will be compared with Mr Kejriwal.
Will this election be contested on the issue of bijli-pani?
It will be a major poll issue. The subsidies provided by the AAP government had benefitted 83 per cent connection holders in the city. Whichever colony we go to, people have exuded confidence that only AAP can reduce the power tariff. This confidence will help us win the election. Unlike the last time, the AAP has managed to overcome the challenge of a “debutante” and in one year has become a household name. From middle class to youth, women or JJ clusters or the rural areas, the party has been able to spread its name and people now recognise us with our election symbol (broom).
Another challenge facing the party in Delhi Assembly elections 2013 was the “lack of a structure” the party had contested the last election on a random movement backed by its volunteers. In the last one year, the party has organised itself a formal structure is in place at the booth level and at the level of constituencies. The party has district leaders, district observers and Vidhan Sabha leaders all of which was missing in the last election. There are leaders working at the ward level, under whom the booth leaders with their own teams are functioning.
Today, the party’s reach and connect with the people has increased multifold. People know AAP, broom and Mr Kejriwal now. People’s awareness of all the three at this point is 99 per cent.
What are the five things AAP promises it will do if elected to power in Delhi?
First and foremost, providing corruption free governance, which the party assures and people are aware of it. Secondly, apart from being honest, governance must be technologically advanced. Today, governance in the national capital is dated files are not managed, there’s a huge backlog of decisions to be taken, pensioners do not receive their pensions on time, etc. Everything should be online so that public services are just a click away for the people. All this the party will introduce. Thirdly, the vision to transform Delhi into a world-class city, not just by constructing flyovers, but by making it into an education hub so that every resident is confident of receiving a world-class education. Apart from these, drinking water, home for poor and turning the city into a “bribe-free investment hub” are the priority.
How is AAP’s development agenda different from the BJP’s idea of development?
The AAP will assure development that will allow people to lead a dignified life good education, clean drinking water, job prospects, security, fast commuting options are the requirements. Improving infrastructure is not just about constructing new roads. Crucial segments such as education and health are grossly overlooked. Every year, five lakh children enrol for primary education and just 50 per cent of these children are able to pass out from class 12. This means that the education system is so flawed that 2.5 lakh students are either forced to drop out of schools or lose interest. The city has higher education options just for a few. So our development agenda is to open a college first and then construct a flyover.
There have been allegations that the party did not follow the procedure to select candidates for the upcoming elections.
Booths have their leaders who have a sanctioned number of volunteers working for them. The party leadership takes a proposal for candidate selection from these people, which is discussed in the political affairs committee. We have not fielded any candidate whose name has not been proposed by the “volunteer meeting”, apart from those who are being repeated.
It is being said that people associated with other parties have joined AAP to seek tickets.
It’s wrong to think that other party leaders are joining just to seek tickets.
