Buoyed by Punjab victory, AAP hopes to make a mark in BMC polls
AAP leader Priti Sharma Menon, who is in charge of the BMC campaign, called the Punjab victory a signal with regards to the BMC polls
Mumbai While the Aam Admi Party (AAP) scripted a spectacular success story in the Punjab assembly polls, its state unit is focussing on the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) election, which will be held in the next couple of months.
The party’s victory in the Punjab polls has given a boost to its activities in Maharashtra, with AAP taking out a rally covering about 18 kilometres from Chakala in the Western suburbs to Chaityabhoomi at Dadar to celebrate the Punjab win on Sunday.
AAP leader Priti Sharma Menon, who is in charge of the BMC campaign, called it a signal with regards to the BMC polls. “This victory march will signal our intention to contest the BMC polls and usher in the change in the working of the BMC. Today, the BMC is in bad shape and every political party has only exploited it,” said Menon. She added that AAP will highlight the pathetic state of Mumbai’s roads, the whole hygiene ecosystem and also revamp the health and education sector.
The election for the BMC, which governs India’s financial capital, is prestigious for political parties. The civic body, boasting an annual budget of approximately ₹45,949 crore, is the richest civic body whose budget outstrips that of several smaller states in India. An impressive performance in BMC polls will give AAP a chance to build a base in Maharashtra where the party has failed so far.
In Mumbai, AAP still has a long way to go as it has offices in just 60 of the total 236 constituencies. It has a membership of 25,000 people of which 2,500 are active volunteers. “We are appointing our ward level presidents and offices will be started in all the 236 wards. Our volunteers have worked very hard during the pandemic and people are frustrated with the current political dispersion. We will definitely make a mark in these elections,” said Menon. She cites the 2021 Surat Municipal Corporation, where they won 27 seats in their debut election. “Surat is like Mumbai and we will repeat the performance even here,” she added.
Political analysts feel that AAP will hardly be able to make a mark in the forthcoming civic polls. “AAP has started too late and may not be able to give an impressive performance. We hardly saw any large-scale agitation from AAP against the government. They should start preparing and aim for the 2024 Maharashtra assembly polls,” opined Hemant Desai, a Mumbai-based political analyst.
Similar was the contention of political analyst Surendra Jondhale, who said the BMC polls are won on grassroots connect. “Political parties win civic polls based on the connect at the ward level. AAP needs to have an organisation in place. They hardly have any grassroots level connection. In addition, AAP still does not have a political face like in Delhi or Punjab who will lead them in Mumbai,” said Jondhale.
The AAP, which was founded in 2012, had leaders in Maharashtra like Anjali Damania, Medha Patkar, Mayank Gandhi, Preeti Sharma Menon, Subhash Ware and Wamanrao Chatap. AAP had launched an anti-corruption campaign with allegations against top state leaders like Sharad Pawar, Ajit Pawar, Chhagan Bhujbal and Nitin Gadkari.
Riding on this euphoria, the AAP contested all the 48 seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. However, it fared miserably as 47 of their candidates lost their deposits. After this setback, the AAP leadership refused permission to the Maharashtra unit to contest the state assembly polls which were held within six months after the Lok Sabha elections. Consequently, many of the leaders deserted the party making the party irrelevant for years. However, the situation improved a bit when the party contested the 2021 Maharashtra Gram Panchayat polls and won 145 seats.