After Delhi poll loss, AAP chalks out campaign focused on Dalit community to regain lost support

The party plans to launch an ideological outreach campaign that will focus on the legacy of national icons like Dr BR Ambedkar and Shaheed Bhagat Singh. While announcing the campaign on Monday, AAP Delhi state convenor Gopal Rai said, “AAP workers and office bearers must strengthen themselves ideologically, and these programmes will help achieve that.” This will be the party’s first major event after the Delhi elections, aimed at bringing together office bearers and workers from its Delhi unit.

The decision was taken on Monday at a key meeting that was chaired by Rai and attended by office bearers from the main wing, frontal organisations, district presidents, district secretaries, and state social media unit members. With the BJP now in power in Delhi, the party said that it is preparing to take on the ruling party both inside the Assembly and on the streets.

The campaign will begin with an event, ‘Ek Shaam Shaheedon Ke Naam,’ on March 23, which will mark the martyrdom of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, and Sukhdev. This will be followed by another event on April 14, commemorating BR Ambedkar’s birth anniversary. The party has plans to take this campaign to all Assembly constituencies.

Over the past years, Dalit voters played a crucial role in shaping Delhi’s electoral landscape, first supporting the Congress and later shifting towards AAP as the party emerged as an alternative to the BJP. However, with the BJP’s win in constituencies like Mangol Puri, Trilokpuri, Madipur, and Bawana, the recent elections saw the party making inroads into AAP’s Dalit support base.

Of the 36 seats in Delhi where Dalits form a significant presence (over 15% of the electorate), the BJP won 21.

AAP secured 10 seats where Dalits make up over 20% and seven where they constitute over 25%. The BJP’s gains in these constituencies signal a new political dynamic that the AAP is seeking to address. At present, the AAP is also working on restructuring its organisational setup to strengthen its cadre at the grassroots level. “Through various programmes, we will ensure that the thoughts of our freedom fighters and social reformers reach both our workers and the people,” Rai said on Monday.